Date-to-riches stories inspire Banaskantha tillers

Palanpur: A progressive horticulture farmer’s tryst with tissue culture is reaping him riches literally with record earning of Rs 1 crore annually! Meet Anadabhai Bhimjibhai Patel of Budhanpur village of Tharad taluka in Banaskantha who has made his orchard of fruits a sweet journey of farming excellence.
Together with the know-how provided by Dantiwada Sardar Krushi University (SDAU), and of course, Patel’s own enthusiasm makes him a classic example of how a tiller can combine improvisation with initiative and make it a revolutionized wonder.“Anadabhai owns 64 bighas (40 acres) of farmland on which he grows pomegranate, papaya, “apple ber” and ‘kharek’ or the Israeli dates. “A date plant sapling costs Patel Rs 3,800, of which, he gets a subsidy of Rs 1,250 from the state government. His overall earnings annually is more than Rs 1 crore,” Jignesh B Suthar, district horticulture officer told TOI.
“I have been getting earning consistently more than Rs 1 crore annually since 2017. We also engage about 15 labourers and their monthly remuneration totals to about Rs 2 lakh,” informed Patel.
Patel’s scintillating annual turnover is a record of sorts in the horticulture area, as on an average Gujarat farmers earn around Rs 43,000 annually, which is why they are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.
The turning point in his life had come when he wanted to grow other fruits too along with date through tissue culture in 2005. This type of tissue culture method of farming was introduced by scientists of SDAU, following a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for self-sufficiency as the then state’s chief minister.
Banaskantha horticulture division as well as SDAU provided Patel with more information that helped bring about a dramatic change in his outlook and he began to grow several fruits and flowers with spectacular results.
Date farming needs a proper supply of water, for which Patel had made suitable arrangements in 2001 and has been holding him steady for all these years. Patel’s two brothers are also involved in date farming and all are happy with their progress. A date plant requires 4x3 feet pit and fertilisers like cowdung manure have to be added before planting a sapling. To save water, Patel uses drip irrigation which also reduces not only labour charges greatly, but also in consumption of water.
What is special about Patel’s dates is that it is of Israeli variety and the whole process of growing it through organic farming has made it more beneficial for health. Patel has 300 date palms, of which, he first earned Rs 9 lakh. This steadily rose to Rs 15 lakh. Dates sell at Rs 60 to Rs 80 per kg in the market and Patel is now expecting a revenue of Rs 25 lakh from dates alone. Interestingly date farming can lead to intercrop farming which led Patel to also grow “apple ber”, which has netted him an additional annual income of Rs 5 lakh.
Such success stories have been a great inspiration for many more of his ilk in the Vav-Tharad area. Banaskantha, known for its potato cultivation primarily, is now turning into a hub for date farming thanks to the ingenuity and enterprise shown by farmers like Patel.