Even as the agriculture sector especially in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand, continues to face various challenges, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of farmers taking up off-season vegetable (OSV) cultivation in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. While farmers in Uttarkashi district had taken up OSV production earlier, the farmers in the mountainous parts of Dehradun district have picked up the practice in recent years. Of the total 254 OSV producer groups in the State, 101 OSV producer groups are from Chakrata block in Dehradun district alone.
According to Integrated livelihood Support Project (IlSP), Uttarakhand Gramya Vikas Samiti (UGVS) manager of knowledge management, Anil Maikhuri, while about 80 per cent of Uttarakhand’s population is dependent on agriculture for its livelihood, only about 12 per cent of the available land is irrigated and 64 per cent is fed by natural springs. He said that the topography of Uttarakhand is characterised by sandy soils which do not retain water for a long time. Due to unavailability of moisture in the soil the crop productivity is not very good in the region. “Uttarakhand's distinct agro-climatic condition is favorable for horticulture development with soil conditions good for cultivating fruits and vegetables. Farmers in Chakrata region gradually understood the concept often from examples set by farmers of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. While districts like Uttarkashi have taken to OSV as a major initiative, farmers in the mountainous regions of Dehradun district are comparatively recent entrants in this field. At present, 101 of the State’s total 254 OSV groups are from Chakrata block alone. This is a major change and a significant trend,” said Maikhuri.
Farmer Devendra Singh Chauhan of the Tagri Hayau village in Kalsi block is one such farmer belonging to an 18-member OSV producer group. Till some years ago, he and his 12 member joint family cultivated paddy and potato. During a visit to a relative living near Sahia, he borrowed some seeds and much information from him. Since then, he has focused on cultivating items like ginger and potato. His group of farmers hire transport to take their produce to Vikasnagar vegetable market 36 kilometres away. With his five brothers having shifted to a nearby town, as a lone male farmer he states that OSV are easier to manage, less time consuming and more profitable. The ginger from this region is also being exported abroad to nations including Afghanistan.
Another farmer from the group- Shamsher Singh, cultivates pea, tomato, ginger and arbi vegetable. He finds vegetable cultivation profitable compared to traditional crop cultivation. While his apple crop failed due to poor snowfall in the past couple of years, poor rain has affected OSVs cropped in the fields lower down in the valley. In spite of these difficulties each of the two farmers had sold ginger alone for Rs 40,000 each in the last season.
IlSP’s Maikhuri states that they are also exploring other markets nearby and special crops like broccoli and exotic fruits like Kiwi. The farmers in the OSV groups are hopeful of further gains through collective vegetable farming, said the IlSP knowledge manager.