Facts first. England produces 7 lakh tons of carrot a year. Nilgiris, a small district on the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu produces 3.6 lakh tons a year.
In agricultural economics, there is an interesting law called 'Bennett's law' (1941). According to this law, as people become wealthy in a country, the type of food they consume would gradually change. Bennett’s law states that as the income level rises the share of starchy food staples, such as rice, wheat, etc., in the diet tends to decline, while the share of more nutrient foods, such as vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, fish and meat tends to rise.
India, the fifth largest economy in the world is now witnessing this trend. It is important to note here that between 2000 and now, India’s GDP has increased over 700% from USD 0.48 bn to USD 3385 bn.
To support the changing dietary pattern, the composition of the agricultural production changes too. This change is demand-driven.
Nilgiris district popularly known as ‘Ooty’ perfectly showcases this change.
Carrot, once considered as an exotic ‘English vegetable’ is now a staple diet in South Indian sambar, kichadi and curries.
The Carrot Commerce in Nilgiris
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Estimated gross area under carrot cultivation: 18,000 acres/year
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Average yield per acre: 20 tons
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Estimated annual production in Nilgiris: 3.6 lakh tons
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Average farm gate price: Rs 22000 per ton
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Estimated revenues to carrot farmers of Nilgiris: Rs 800 Cr per year.
Considering the cost of cultivation @Rs 3 lakh/acre for two seasons (i.e. Rs 1.5 lakh per season), carrot cultivation fetches a net income of around Rs 300 Cr to the farmers of Nilgiris.
Carrot growers of Nilgiris are mostly marginal, small and medium farmers. Their earnings per unit area (Rs 4-5 lakh per acre per year) is among the highest of all crops.
Carrot is a cool season crop. Nilgiris/Ooty (7300 feet mean sea level) offers perfect climate and fertile soil for growing carrot. Carrots from Nilgiris command premium price in the market on account of bright orange colour and good taste.
Over the last two decades, carrot cultivation in Nilgiris/Ooty has steadily evolved to be a well-integrated industry. Innovative entrepreneurs have set up state-of-the art cleaning, grading and packing units.
During our recent visit, we posed one question to the young carrot growers of Nilgiris.
Are you getting higher yields per acre than your father managed to get?
Everyone energetically affirmed that they were getting 3 to 4 times more yields than the earlier generation!
Carrot growers invariably attributed their success to the adoption of modern hybrid seeds (from the USA, EU etc), use of agrochemicals to manage mainly diseases, nematodes & weeds, and increased irrigation facilities by way of sprinklers. The use of liquid fertilizers is also very common.
The message from Nilgiris carrot growers is loud and clear. Indian diets have undergone significant transformation in recent years. They consume more of different vegetables. Clearly, Bennet’s law is at work. With considerable ease, Indian farmers rise to the occasion - meeting the emerging demand by effectively utilizing the modern inputs, technologies and hard work.
Horticultural crops (in this case, carrot) fetch higher revenues per unit area for the farmers than grain crops. Horticultural crops enrich our diets and enrich the agricultural economy as well.
Our Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation cannot afford to miss out on such exciting contemporary developments in Indian agriculture.
Indian agriculture is very different from what most people think it is. Our agricultural “farms” function like “firms”. A firm is a “for-profit” business organization. Return on investment matters most for the firms and farms as well. Indian agriculture is fast changing. Our attitude to Indian agriculture must change, too. Let us not live in the past.
Author Ganesan. S email - ganesanicc@gmail.com
Centre for Environment & Agriculture (CENTEGRO), a Mumbai-based think tank. We actively work, among others, on matters that concern Indian agriculture, trade, economy, health and environment.