In J&K, Lavender Cultivation is Helping Marginal Farmers Change Their Fortunes

The ‘Purple Revolution’ was successfully brought in by the farmers. Dr. Jatinder Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology said that Bhaderwah has not only sprouted as the birthplace of lavender in India but has also contributed to the history of bringing the purple revolution in our country.

Doda district’s farmers who are growing lavender under Union Government’s Aroma Mission said that by adopting the cultivation of unconventional aromatic plants they will be on the road to practically accomplishing PM’s dream of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

In the year 2018, the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) introduced lavender in the temperate regions of the Jammu division under the CSIR-Aroma Mission and made efforts to popularize it in the Doda, Rajouri, and Kishtwar districts.

Looking for a favorable cold climate ample for growing conditions, a couple of small and marginal farmers of the Bhaderwah region of the Doda district took risks and shifted to lavender cultivation from traditional maize growing in the year 2017 as it was the only agricultural practice they have been practicing through the years.

In order to expand their incomes, farmers joined the initiative under CSIR-Aroma Mission in large numbers and within 5 years, 2,500 farmers started cultivating lavender in their respective fields at various villages including the Lehrote, Tipri, Killar, Nalthi, Koundla, Himote, Butla, Nakshari, Sartingal, and Bhaderwah.

Touqeer Bagban, a Bhaderwah farmer has come a long way to become an inspiration for many as this class XI pass-out is known for changing the face of farming and has transformed from the traditional crop maize to lavender which gave him better dividends.

He started cultivating on a small piece of land at Dandi village in Bhaderwah in the year 2017 and presently, owns a firm that manufactures aromatic products.

His success story and the methods of cultivation do not follow the constant rags to riches story but he has also modernized the farming methods. He not only modified his fortunes but has also taken lavender farming to others as well.

To this, he added, “I followed the same traditional methods of cultivation as my forefathers did. In the Kandi belts due to the limited scope of irrigation, we were not able to changeover to other crops which could bring us more profit.”

In the year 2017, he got in touch with the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu where the officials encouraged him to cultivate new crops and offered him lavender saplings.