Farming in the desert of Rajasthan is a difficult task in itself. Farmer Chandraprakash Mali of Dechu village of Phalodi district has made pomegranate cultivation possible in the desert after facing difficulties like lack of water and uncertainty of weather. This village lies between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Other farmers of this village also cultivate pomegranate.
Chandraprakash Mali has been awarded the Rural Voice NACOF Award 2023 for pomegranate cultivation. He has been given this award in the Best Farming Practices category.
Talking to Rural Voice, Chandraprakash Mali said that so far in the current season he has sold pomegranates worth Rs 70 lakh. About 30 percent more pomegranates are left, which will continue to be harvested till March next year. Chandraprakash Mali cultivates pomegranate only in 80 bighas of his 123 bighas of land. He has planted more than 9,000 pomegranate trees in a garden surrounded by sand dunes. Before starting pomegranate cultivation, he was cultivating mustard, gram, cumin, isabgol and groundnut, which he is still doing.
Chandraprakash Mali received the Rural Voice Nakoff Award from NITI Aayog member Prof. Ramesh Chand.
When asked as to how he got the inspiration to start pomegranate farming, he said, "A friend of mine does pomegranate farming and I had gone to see him. After taking necessary information from him, I contacted the Horticulture Department of the State Government. The Horticulture Department provided me pomegranate saplings on subsidy. The cost of one plant was Rs 40 on which I got a subsidy of Rs 16. In the year 2017, I had planted 12,000 pomegranate saplings. Out of these, 3,000 plants got damaged due to various reasons. Now there are 9,000 plants left in my farm. I worked hard to take care of these plants for three years. Pomegranate plants start bearing fruits only after three years and continue to bear fruits for 20 years."
He said that pomegranate was harvested for the first time in 2020. In 2021, most of the crops were damaged due to frost. Cold wave caused damage in 2022 also. The crop in 2023 has been good and so far, they have sold pomegranates worth Rs 70 lakh. About 200 tonnes have been produced. He said that the price was good till one and a half month ago but now the price has reduced considerably. If the price had continued to rise, the earnings would have been higher.
Pomegranate orchard of Chandraprakash Mali amidst sand dunes.
He said that the cost of pomegranate cultivation is very high. In such a situation, if the price is not met then it is difficult to bear the loss. My cost is Rs 20 lakh annually. According to him, if the weather is favourable and the price is right, then one can earn Rs 1 lakh per bigha from pomegranate cultivation.
According to Chandraprakash Mali, while growing pomegranate in the desert, one has to face a lot of weather-related problems (storm, cold wave) and lack of water. To deal with the water problem they have adopted sprinkler irrigation technology.
He said that Bhagirath Choudhary, founder of Jodhpur-based South Asia Biotechnology Center and his team have given full support to him in providing information about the technologies, using them and protecting the crops from pests. "His team keeps visiting my farm from time to time and provides necessary information and advice," he added.