India: The state of floriculture in Punjab
“Diversification in floriculture has been limited so far because it is labour and technology intensive, needs a vast field to avoid cross-pollination and is demand driven. The demand for flowers is catching up slowly so progressive farmers are warming up to this niche crop,” says Ajmer Singh, the head of the department of floriculture at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana.
For those keen on adopting this field, the three national award-winning floriculturists of Patiala district suggest starting out small. Avtar Singh began with floriculture in 3.5 acres of the 18-acre ancestral land in 1985. “Start with an acre as you need to be directly involved even if you have trained labour. I drive down from my home in Ludhiana daily because I can’t ignore my flowers for even two days between October and May,” he says.
A mechanical engineer-turned-floriculturist Gurpreet Singh Shergill, who owns 36 acres at Mujhal Khurd, 15km from Patiala on the road to Samana, says, “My father Baldev Singh was a regular farmer who followed the wheat-paddy cycle. When I joined my elder brother Karamjit Singh in farming, we decided to diversify. I equipped myself with knowhow in floriculture, fish farming and beekeeping. We started with an acre of marigold in 1996.”
Read more at the Hindustan Times
