Root strikes prosperity in village

Prosperity and farming almost never go hand in hand in Vidarbha, which has been in the news for a rash of farmer suicides recently. But whil...

Prosperity and farming almost never go hand in hand in Vidarbha, which has been in the news for a rash of farmer suicides recently. But while the media and government are counting the dead, Bhimraoji Kadu is counting his cash.

In the last 40 days, his net earning has been an amazing Rs 65,000. But the staggering daily average of Rs 1,625 for a farmer isn8217;t exclusive to Bhimraoji. Almost everyone at Khadgaon, an obscure village near here, is an exception to the law of diminishing returns in farming. And the root cause of this prosperity is itself a root, the radish to be specific.

8216;8216;Ten years ago, we too were sailing in the same sinking boat. But radish cultivation has salvaged us,8217;8217; says Bhimraoji. It started with a select few and soon caught the fancy of all 300 families, which otherwise grew traditional crops like cotton and sorghum. Today, radish cultivation has struck firm roots not only in Khadgaon but also in the adjoining Lava, Chicholi and Phetri villages.

8216;8216;First, radish cultivation is of short duration8212;we are harvesting one lot every 45 days. So, in a year, we may harvest up to four times. Second, it costs us just as much as any other heavy-input, less-output crop like cotton and sorghum. And third, we have a huge Nagpur market in close proximity,8217;8217; Bhimraoji, who grows radish in three out of his 10 acres, explains.

The input cost per acre for radish works out to Rs 5,600. The labour input is the same as traditional crops. 8216;8216;Dung manure and a few sprayings are a must. And returns are dramatically higher,8217;8217; says Ankushrao Thakre. Plus, the farm is ready for another round within three days of the previous harvest.

Farmers say that one harvest fetches them up to Rs 20,000 per acre. 8216;8216;As against this, cotton fetches just Rs 10,000 per acre from the only harvest in a year,8217;8217; says Deorao Kadu. Having an average land-holding of up to five acres, Khadgaon farmers reserve half their fields for radish and grow cotton, soyabean and sorghum in the remaining.

Importantly, however, radish requires external irrigation in dry season. And, fortunately, almost every Khadgaon farmer now has a well in his farm, thanks again to radish. 8216;8216;We are happy farmers. We owe our well-being to radish,8217;8217; says Diwakar Naik.

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And the competition, with almost every farmer in the area growing radish, is no dampener either. 8216;8216;Every morning, at 5 o8217; clock, a cycle-race begins from our village,8217;8217; says Ishwar Ganvir, who owns three acres. 8216;8216;People vie with each other to reach Nagpur the earliest, so that they get the top rate.8217;8217; 8216;8216;Competition,8217;8217; supplements Indraraj Gomkar, 8216;8216;gets the best out of us.8217;8217;