A nondescript village Kowwa Khoh but a notable farmer Deepak Kumar under Harihurganj police station in Palamu are in news for agriculture, a very stunning thing about Palamu where agriculture is deeply linked to the impact of drought.
At Kowwa Khoh a diploma holder in electrical engineering Deepak Kumar after leaving his job in Mumbai is doing strawberry cultivation and making money by fair means.
Deepak Kumar said he was inspired to do the strawberry cultivation by his father in law who does the same in Haryana, and over the last three years Kumar is heart and soul into this juicy business.
He brings strawberry saplings from Pune where they are imported from USA. When Deepak Kumar started this at his native village Kowwa Khoh he was alone as other farmers of that locality just watched him and his fate. But when he started exporting strawberry to places like Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Kolkata, he regained the confidence of farmers of his locality and now two more farmers are doing the same strawberry cultivation.
DC, Palamu, Shantanu Kumar Agrahari, visited this cultivation quite recently and was impressed by the labour of this farmer Deepak Kumar.
Sources said DC spent considerable time there at the 6 acre plot of this cultivation of Kumar and wanted to know if other farmers having no expertise in it can go for it at their respective places in this drought hit Palamu. Sources said farmers’ awareness about this cash crop is required.
There is one more twist to this. Palamu’s strawberry has a good market in Chhatisgarh, Bihar and Kolkata where a tray of strawberry comes for 150 rupees minimum but back here in Palamu there are very few buyers of it. Deepak Kumar has this explanation for this. “Poverty stalks here mos.t People are not much inclined to take fruits and this is a bit costlier,” he said.
However, expressing hope he said once Palamu starts growing it at large scale there will increase its local consumption. DC was accompanied by SDO Chhaterpur Bhogender Thakur and other block officials.
DC said, “The way this strawberry cultivation is so being done needs to be replicated in other parts of Palamu as well since it is a cash fruit and farmers if they tend to it will be most benefitted. Kumar requested for deep bore well. I believe here can be solar driven drip irrigation or sprinkle irrigation more beneficial.”
Agrahari adding further assured the farmer on his request would be given Green House explaining this will lessen his worry to bring strawberry saplings from Pune by road which is time taking and costlier affair too.
Kumar also wants Poly House on the pattern of Green House for growing capsicum whose green variety has a good market in Palamu.
Deepak Kumar’s strawberry cultivation is right near NH 98 and here he has an altogether a different problem as he said, “NH 98 is in a terrible condition.There is always lot of dust. Dust is not good to this kind of sensitive fruit. I pray NH 98 gets repaired soon.”