To break the wheat and rice rotation cropping pattern, farmers in Punjab , the country?s largest foodgrain growing state are increasingly taking up banana farming in a big way.
Banana farming, which started in Punjab in 2006, has now emerged as an alternate form of farming with its acreage rising from just 10 acres to 500 acres in four years.
GSKalkat, chairman of Punjab State Farmers Commission said, ?Planting banana on one acre gives as assured return of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2.00 lakh.?
He said the Punjab government is planning to set up banana ripening chambers in Ludhiana, Patiala and Jalandhar to help growers.
To make the diversification more attractive, he said, the state gives farmers a one-time capital assistance of Rs 40, 000 to build a greenhouse.
Mewa Singh, president of Banana Growers Association said ?going by present day high price that bananas fetch in the market, a farmer can make over Rs 2 lakh from every acre under banana?.
He disclosed that domestic consumption was also very high as Punjab consumes bananas worth Rs 600 crore every year, which were hitherto imported from Maharashtra and Gujarat .
With Punjab going whole hog to grow bananas like it did
for kinnows (a variety of orange), the state can meet at least half of its domestic demand from own crop.
Singh claims that the quality of bananas produced in Punjab is very good as the state uses a different technique due to different weather conditions in this part of the country.
The plant is sown in February so as to keep it safe from fog and frost, which helps its ripening.
Banana is most suited for cultivation in states with average temperatures of 15??35?c and a rainfall of 500?2,000mm every year.
However, Punjab is known for its extreme temperature, zero degree during winters and as high 48 degree in summers.
The Punjab State Farmers Commission provides special technique to the farmers to cultivate bananas in such extreme temperatures.
The fruit has been included in the National Horticulture Mission and attracts a 50% subsidy for its plants and drip irrigation.
According to the Punjab State Farmer Commission, it has sold 196,000 tissue culture plants this season.
Sunil Jakhar, MLA from Abohar and son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar ,observes that ?banana?s inclusion in the National Horticulture Mission recently is likely to further encourage Punjab farmers to grow bananas as up to 50% subsidy will now be offered for its plants and drip irrigation?.