Savi Thangavel - age 68 Date Farming Changed This Vidarbha Farmer's Life & He Can Help You Set up a Farm Too :-
What is unusual about Thangavel's farm is that he doesn't grow crops like soyabean, paddy, cotton or sugarcane, usually grown by Vidarbha farmers, but you can see 130 organically grown date trees loaded with at least 25 kg to 30 kg of dates on each one of them.
He then bought 130 tissue culture date plants and planted them in his 2-acre land. The experiment was completely new in Vidarbha. It was the first time that someone was doing date farming here and sadly,Thangavel became a laughing stock there.The cost per plant at the time was Rs 6,000, so it was an investment with a huge risk.
However,within 3 years the plants bore fruit and in the fourth year, Thangavel harvested nearly 25 kg- 30 kg of dates from each tree.The dates were sold for Rs. 300 per kg, giving him a huge profit, though marketing the product was also not an easy task initially.
"Many people did not know about this fruit when I started selling them. What people know is the normal dried Khajur, which is available in the market. We have to create awareness among the people about fresh Date fruit. What I did was I went to the busy roadside and distributed the fruit to people. Many said that it is Ber, many appreciated, some laughed at me, some looked with suspicion but I did my job. It is your outlook, how you see the situation. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Certainly I see a very bright future for these dates," says Thangavel.
At present,Thangavel owns 25 acres of land. He has planted 300 new date plants of six new varieties in another four acres. Each tree now produces almost 100 kg of dates. Thangavel has reduced the price to Rs. 200 per kg for local customers.
In winter,Thangavel opens his farm for visitors to pick their own strawberries.
Contact Details:
Thangavel Date Plantation
Green House,
Near Zilpi Lake,
ZilpiMohegaon – P.O,
Hingna –Tasil,
Nagpur – 441110
Phone :Mr.Thangavel : +919923086994, 9822743228
Email : contact@datesnagpur.com
full article in the link below
http://www.thebetterindia.com/
Posted by: Ravi Narasimhan <ravi.narasimhan.in@gmail.com>
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