Kanakambralu flowers: A profitable enterprise in India

In their quest for sustainable income, a group of progressive farmers of Mustikuntla village in Bonakal mandal have not only earned a niche for themselves in floriculture but also proved the efficacy of flower cultivation as a profitable enterprise.

Once known as a hub of tobacco cultivation, the village has now transformed itself into a major centre of flower and vegetable cultivation in the district.

Thanks to the sustained efforts by a group of enterprising farmers, the village has earned a wide reputation for cultivation of kanakambralu (crossandra infundibuliformis) and Banthi (Marigold), besides vegetable cultivation in pandal mode.

“I have switched over to cultivation of kanakambralu as it offers assured income almost throughout the year,” says B. Nagachandrudu, a progressive farmer of Mustikuntla.

The demand for kanakambralu peaks during the festival seasons like Karthikamasam, Ganesh Navaratri and Bathukamma, he notes, adding that a kilogramme of kanakambralu fetches a whopping Rs. 1,000 during the peak festive season.

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