GOALPARA, Dec 28 - In a bid for crop diversification and providing sustainable livelihood to local farmers under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), 2016-17, a total of 10 hectares of strawberry cultivation have been taken up for the first time in the district.
This correspondent during a field visit to the Balijana area, which is around 20 km away from the district headquarters had an interaction with enthusiastic farmers, Parmeswar Ray and Dibakar Ray, who have sown 1,250 strawberry plants (or runners) in mid-November with technical guidance from the Agriculture Department. They said that they are trying something different and exotic in their field and veered away from the traditional path exploring the options have motivated them.
They also said that they are optimistic that the Agriculture Department will take necessary efforts for creating viable conditions for boosting small businesses by sustaining and encouraging strawberry cultivation in the district and they need more training sessions and supplementary support like exposure visits to educate themselves about the benefits of starwberry cultivation.
Meanwhile, sources in the Agriculture Department said that a total of 18 farmers have been engaged in the first phase and since this is an experimental crop they are adopting a wait and watch strategy to decide their future cource of action as the strawberry fruit has a three-month harvesting period.