Bloom boom: Uttaranchal says it with flowers

Scenting success in flowers, others have followed suit. Jaspur legislator Dr Shailender Mohan Singhal, Udham Singh Nagar resident Vijay Singh are into gerbera cultivation in a big way. Entrepreneur Rameshwar Havelia has turned over his one-hectare farmhouse in Dehra Dun to growing roses.

And there’s room for more. The Uttaranchal government, which considers flower cultivation an industry, is trying to convince French heavyweight Miland Star-Rose and VBA Holland — the world’s biggest flower auctioneers — to provide expertise and planting material to the locals, to allow them to compete globally.

The buzz extends beyond Uttaranchal. The Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, a Union commerce ministry undertaking, and the National Horticulture Board (NHB) recognise the state as a floriculture export zone.The NHB and the state government provide subsidies up to Rs 50 lakh for promotion of export-oriented flower cultivation.

There’s more: A Chennai-based company is negotiating terms for the production of hybrid marigold in 2000 acres of land to procure food-grade yellow pigment for exports. The state government is also working on an MoU with a Delhi-based company to market Stevia, a shrub used as a sugar-substitute.

‘‘We are already sending flowers grown across 278 acres of land to the Delhi flower mandi,’’ says Uttaranchal Horticulture Minister Govind Singh Kunjwal.

Small farmers, too, are venturing into the flower bazaar, spurred by the rise in demand from flower boutiques and wedding decorators. ‘‘My clients are mostly shopkeepers and decorators,’’ says Rakesh Rawat of Doiwala town who grows marigolds on 4.5 acres of land. ‘‘My returns are good, but they rise significantly during the wedding season.’’