Khetaji Solanki, a 41-year old farmer from Banaskantha district in North Gujarat sees a bright future in farming for his son Mahesh.

Solanki, a potato farmer switched to muskmelon and struck gold on his 7 bigha ( 4 acres) holding. Solanki produced 140 tonnes of muskmelon with a 70-day crop cycle.

Sold at the rate of ₹15 a kg at the markets in Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat, the muskmelon earned Solanki over ₹20 lakh inspiring others who had been unable to profit from traditional crops.

Prices hit

“Last year, potato prices had dropped to ₹2 a kg and we dumped the crop in the open. I had two options: either to continue crying over inadequate prices or try something new. And the experiment turned my fortune,” Solanki told BusinessLine adding that against the cost of ₹1.29 lakh, the return is multiple times. Having formal education till class-7, Solanki used innovative methods to cultivate muskmelon as he cut down his costs significantly by making use of alternate inputs such as water-soluble fertilisers. He also cut down on pesticides by using organic mixtures of gaumutra (cow urine), soured buttermilk and neem leaves.

Technology helps

For better productivity, Solanki used drip-irrigation and mulching techniques, which reduced water wastage as well as brought down the labour costs. The biggest portion of the cost was seeds, which cost him ₹36,000, while water-soluble fertiliser came to ₹45,000 and mulching and drip together cost about ₹40,000. “Our costs further came down as we received State government subsidy of ₹22,000 for mulching,” he added.

The State authorities lauded Solanki’s achievement. “This is remarkable achievement. But it may be not be the same for every muskmelon grower. Returns may differ, but the truth is there are better prospects in horticulture crops and with this aim, we promote and encourage farmers to take innovative techniques of cultivation and take advantage of the State schemes,” said PM Vaghasiya, Director of Horticulture, Gujarat government.

Timing key

However, for Solanki, early sowing and early harvest yielded him unexpected results. “We sowed in early February and harvested by April 15. Usually, growers delay the harvest hence, the prices they get is not such attractive. We got the advantage of being early in the market. Next year, we will try with different, high-paying, variety of muskmelon,” said Solanki, adding that next on his radar is export-quality tomato for monsoon season.

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