While many have abandoned agriculture and migrated from the mountainous regions of the State to the plains and cities, there are some people who are enjoying a comfortable income from cultivation in the mountains. There is one such farmer in Chopdiyal village in Chamba block of Tehri district who is prospering by cultivating the exotic kiwifruit. Some other farmers in the Chamba-Mussoorie fruit belt are also trying to take up cultivation of kiwifruit to improve their economic condition.
Mangalanand Dabral worked as a driver in Kuwait from 1968 to 1975. Returning to his village Chopdiyal, Dabral started cultivating apples and unseasonal vegetables on his land. However, apple growers like Dabral began experiencing some loss in business due to the climatic changes that have taken place in the last four-five years.
About three years ago Dabral saw a television programme on kiwifruit cultivation through which farmers in New Zealand had made substantial improvement in their economic condition. He began cultivating kiwifruit since 2012 after procuring the saplings from Himachal Pradesh. In addition to using manure he also began using a mixture of cow urine, ash, neem, walnut and other organic components as a pesticide. After about two years of hard work, Dabral is now making a brisk income from the cultivation of the exotic fruit.
One creeper of kiwifruit spreads to about 20 metres and produces upto 70 kg fruit. Upto 22 creepers of kiwifruit can be grown on one nail (240 square yards) land which can result in an income of about `3 lakh in a year. Though various crops are raided by monkeys and wild boar in Uttarakhand, the animals tend to leave the kiwifruit untouched since the creeper is thorny. Kiwifruit saplings can be procured either from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh or from Haldwani and Pantnagar among other places in Uttarakhand.