Cashew farming changes lives of 52 tribal families in Junglemahal
Not only Bipin, another 51 tribal families living at Gaighata village under Salboni block in West Midnapore, who were mainly depend on forest produce like woods and Sal leaves, have started earning a substantial income from cashew farming.
Biswabrata Goswami
Hummingbird News
Bipin
was then suggested to go for cashew nut farming in his own barren laterite land
by the officials of the soil conservation branch under state agricultural
department in association with Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV).
And,
today, he does not require going elsewhere for earning and he can maintain his
livelihood from his earlier sterile land. Now, he can cultivate vegetables on
his own land which was quite impossible barely three years ago. In addition to
this, he is now engaged in cashew farming which is very profitable crop.
Not only Bipin, another 51 tribal families living at Gaighata village under Salboni block in West Midnapore, who were mainly depend on forest produce like woods and Sal leaves, have started earning a substantial income from cashew farming. All 52 families who had 32 hectare barren laterite lands, have been engaged in cashew plantation and within two years, their lands have become fertile. They now started cultivating various vegetables in their courtyards. The total laterite lands have now turned into a green fertile land.
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Dr
Dibyendu Samanta, assistant-director of state agriculture department (Soil
Conservation), who is pioneer in changing this huge sterile laterite land to a
fertile land by implementing cashew plantation project, said, “Cashew farming
is very much effective in changing the soil character especially of laterite
soil. Due to this intense farming, underground water level has already been
lifted and the land has gradually been turned from less fertile to fertile.
Here, the tribal families who depend on forest produces have been grossly
benefitted as they have started earnings from their lands. Next year, they will
get profit from selling cashew nuts.”
He
also said, “We have also planted gamhar trees along the border of the land and
this will help protecting the cashew plantation from storm or natural
calamities. This apart, the beneficiaries will get prices by selling woods of
these gamhar trees with the intervals of few years. This border plantation has
been carried out with the help of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya”.
After inspecting the farm, Dr Benukar Biswas, Officer-in-charge of Agro-forestry department, BCKV said, “The university will help in beautifying the farm in future.”
