Bunches of exotic Kiwi fruit hang deliciously low, as their creepers climb high iron structures bang in the middle of an orchard adjoining the thick pine forests of Solan district. This is the scenic village of Gawlhi, a few kilometres downhill from the Oachghat Gram Panchayat in Himachal Pradesh.

“The fruit is almost ripe and will be ready for marketing from mid-September,” says Sudhir Sood, the orchard’s proud owner, who spent his own money to construct a 2.5km road to make the village accessible.

Sood’s inspiration came from his father, who had, together with his college friends from agricultural backgrounds, set up a small garden with apple trees in Solan. So, when the time came, Sood bought some land for cultivation in Gawlhi and started with tomatoes and a low-height variety of apple trees. It was in 1993 that he planted some saplings of kiwi fruit for the first time.

By 1996 his first crop came to fruition, but he found there were no buyers despite the fact that kiwi had both nutritional and medicinal qualities. It was simply a case of unfamiliarity with the fruit or its taste. For the next five to six years, it was a struggle for Sood to educate as well as market kiwi among the population.

His persistence finally paid off. Today, the enterprising farmer no longer has to transport his kiwi crop to the market. Wholesale dealers land up on his doorstep to buy the elite fruit. Kiwi is slowly, but surely taking a prime place in the fruit basket of the hill-State. Sood has over 60 plants in one orchard and 125 in another, which will start giving fruit next year.

Passionate about cultivation, Sood also has trees of Japanese fruit, apricot, peach, almond, and walnut. Turmeric, cardamom, pulses and vegetables too bedeck his land, but kiwi is now his mainstay crop.

Kiwi was first grown in Himachal Pradesh almost 20 years ago on an experimental basis. Only in recent years has there been a rise in demand for it in the fruit markets of Delhi, Punjab, even Mumbai. Farmers are getting a good price in the local market as well, due to its popularity with tourists.

“The best thing is that the kiwi fruit starts becoming available from the moment the festival season begins in October till the end of the year. Gifting kiwi fruit-boxes is becoming a trend,” explains Sood.

In Shimla, the State capital, slices of a sweet-sour variety of kiwi are sprinkled with chaat masala and sold for ₹20. A single sweet kiwi fetches ₹30-40. Processing units buy it, too, for juice and winemaking.

The kiwi plant takes three years to bear fruit, yielding from one to three quintals. Sood says he uses only organic manure and has put in place water harvesting and drip irrigation along with a dozen solar panels to light up the area.

Unlike apple, kiwi does not require much work or attention. “All one needs is a space of about five metres between adjacent plants, and a strong iron structure and net to hold the heavy bunches of Kiwi fruit. As it fruits in winter, there aren’t many post-harvesting issues. What is more, monkeys and birds don’t like the fruit, so there are fewer chances of destruction by them.

The Himachal Pradesh government has been encouraging farmers to take up kiwi cultivation by providing training and financial assistance. This has borne fruit. Today, over 500 farmers cultivate kiwi in 120 hectares, with an annual production of 270 tonnes. The fruit is cultivated both in open fields and in polyhouses.

According to Sudhir Katiha, Deputy Director of the State Horticulture Department, farmers are switching to kiwi in some areas of Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts where apple production has fallen due to climate change.

“It took decades for apple to become a part of the middle-class’s food basket, and the time is not far when kiwi too will become a popular fruit without the ‘elite’ tag and add to the State economy in a big way,” says a hopeful Sood.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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