Saffron farming in Jharkhand

This is the real life story of three farmers named Pawan Kumar Bhogata, Ruplaal Singh Bhogata and Vinod Bhogata, from Chatra, Jharkhand. 

Jharkhand, a state which resembles its name, i.e, it is full of greenery, and  forestry. A state full of rich minerals and resources. 

Here, farming is the main occupation of people in the tribal areas. People from these villages are not much educated. They are dependent on the family farming business, being followed from their ancestor's time.  In almost all villages people do farming for a living.

This blog, is to bring it out to you people, the initiative that changes the life. It is about the movement of people from farming of Opium (Afeem)  to Saffron (Kesar).

 

Some Backgrounds

Since many years, people in the villages of Chatra District were in trap of the farming followed from the British rule.  From that time, farmers here cultivated the plant of opium (Afeem) at a very large extent.

Opium is not a soil friendly poppy. This makes the soil infertile, and the farmers are left with barren lands. Once grown on a land, the land becomes a waste, and it becomes difficult to cultivate other plants. 

Opium was not only destroying the soil, but it was also demolishing the life of the youngsters of the villages. They were becoming addicted to the drug grown for medicinal purpose. 

Consuming the drug in the large dosage does harm to body and brain, as it is a narcotic drug. Thus, it pulls down the life of the generation.

 

Initiative for change

In 2019, three farmers Pawan Kumar Bhogata, Ruplaal Singh Bhogata and Vinod Bhogata from the villages of Joldah Panchayat, Chatra, Jharkhand, took the initiative to start the saffron farming in the barren places.

To pull out young people from the trap drug addiction, they decided to take a break from their traditional way of farming, and shift to the new way of farming. That is, they planned to do the farming of Kesar to earn an income for their family.

This change was not that easy for the three farmers as they had no idea about it. Also, they were not motivated for the move. Instead, they faced many restrictions and barriers on the way. They faced all these obstacles on the journey of growing and planting saffron.

The three did a lot of research. They brought seeds of saffron from Patna, and started the agricultural process of growing the spice Red Gold. 

The crocus can be grown anywhere, but hilly areas with loamy soil are more favourable for its growth. The places in Jharkhand are very similar as per the requirement, this favoured the three farmers. 

The geographical location was the state is very good for the cultivation of this plant. The plants get ample amount of sunlight and water for their growth.

This costly spice is among the most demanding commercial spice all over the world. This rich spice economically benefited the three farmers. They earned around 20 lakhs from it. And it is amazing to know that all parts of this flower is beneficial.

 

Life After success

On the success of the three farmers, other farmers from the village and around the village cheered to  their success. They all got inspired from the change.  

Other agriculturists of the villages also planned to move to the cultivation of Saffron.

Saffron is a world wide demanded spice. This is a well known commercial spice, also called Red Gold. 

The demand of this spice is never down. The average per kg price is 60-70 thousand. And India is the most popular country for the export of this Kesar. 

This benefited the three young farmers. They got contact from different businessmen to sell their spice. With some initial investment at start, it helped them earn profit at start to large growth in income afterward.

 

Conclusion

This blog is about the story of the three young farmers, who brought change in the lives of people of their district with some break of the rule.

History of successful people showed that for a change that you want in your life, you have to be the change. The three proved the history again, from their initiative, and hard work. 

Opium is a medicinal drug. This is a narcotic control drug. But this was demolishing the life of the youngsters of the villages, because they were not only growing it, but were also consuming this illegally. The generation was in danger.

With the simple move, they saved the life of many people including the youngsters from the honey trap of drugs. They gave them another way for leading good life. 

Where there was cultivation of Opium, today, there saffron is being grown.

Now, the agriculturists there have started to change their thinking about this change. The motivation they got from the three is tremendous. They have become the hero of their village. 

Currently, they are helping other people of the villages, in and around the district to get out and start a new life. With their experience and contact with the seller, they teach other farmers about the growing procedure of saffron. 

This is a beginning of the new era, for the people of village.