April 13, 2008
Mahabaleshwar
The Sweet Home of Indian Strawberries By V. Vijayalakshmi
Mahabaleshwar
(Maharashtra)
A huge curiosity less than 90 years ago, a good looking red fruit
has taken Mahabaleshwar by storm. With more local farmers taking to
growing strawberries every year, this western hill station now
contributes almost 85 percent of India's total production.
Mahabaleshwar was the perfect summer getaway for the Bombay province
during the British Raj. Located 120 km from Pune and 250 km from
Mumbai, this resort town, situated on a plateau, is not just picture
perfect, it is also a welcome change from the sticky Mumbai summer.
In the 1920s it was here that the English first introduced
strawberries to India.
Krishna Seth Balhare, now a strawberry farmer here, fondly recalls
tales his grandfather told.
"There was a huge curiosity back then about this red fruit which the
British used to grow in their kitchen gardens. The Indians had no
clue about this interesting fruit, meant only for the British Saab."
Balhare recounted: "It was called the Australian Strawberry. But for
farmers here, clueless about its taste, it was just a good-looking
red fruit. Only around 1960, the Mahabaleshwar farmer received his
first 100 saplings of the strawberry plant."
One strawberry plant can propagate 20 more, so from the 1960's till
1992, the Australian variety of strawberry was grown in
Mahabaleshwar in about 130 acres of land with an output afforded
only by the affluent.
However, in 1992, came a strawberry revolution.
Recollects Mahendra Pangare, another farmer from Mahabaleshwar: "A
businessman brought the Chandler variety of the plant from
California. This variety produced a much bigger and better tasting
fruit."
Around that time, recall these farmers, then Maharashtra chief
minister Sharad Pawar ordered 25,000 saplings of the plant from
California and strawberry farming started gaining ground -- from 600
acres then to 2,000 acres now in Mahabaleshwar alone.
The area annually produces some 15,000 tonnes of the fruit.
Ramchandra Sanaba Shelke, agriculture supervisor in the state
Department of Agriculture, says: " Mahabaleshwar earlier grew lots
of potatoes. But strawberry farming has now become very popular
among farmers here."
"I was a sales agent for a local jam-manufacturing company. The job
gave me just about Rs.3,000 to 4,000 a month consuming all my
energy. So I decided to start farming my land in Mahabaleshwar. I
started strawberry farming... my whole family supports me... all of
us live and work at the farm," says Pangare.
Strawberry farmers of Mahbaleshwar have formed support groups to
help and educate one another.
"In Mexico, 20 tonnes of strawberries are produced in one acre while
in California the figure goes up to 22 tonnes. We also want to take
our production to at least 15 tonnes per acre," says Balhare who has
this year sent his first export consignment of 600 tonnes of the
fruit to Belgium.
More young people are taking up strawberry farming in this region.
As a result one can see farms with latest farming techniques such as
drip irrigation and mulching being used.
Organic farming is yet another area where Mahabaleshwar farmers are
taking a lead. Farmers adhere to the Euro Gap Certification where
pesticides are sprayed the least.
Today, with the region offering the perfect weather conditions for
growing strawberries, there are some 1,350 strawberry farmers in
Mahabaleshwar producing 87 percent of the Indian fruit crop.
But the increased supply of the fruit in the market has depressed
prices. And this is a cause for concern for the farmers.
"These days, we are getting just Rs.35 per kg while two years ago we
used to get Rs.250 per kg. Three years ago, if I invested Rs.250,000
I would get back Rs.500,000, " says Pangare.
Balhare, however, says: "The only way to earn more from strawberries
is by producing more."
And that, he says, is possible by spreading more awareness about the
fruit.
In California, 94 percent of the households consume strawberries but
in India only eight percent of the households are strawberry-eaters.
"In India, even if we have a one percent increase in strawberry
consumption, it will be big," avers Balhare.
Because of severe cold, there was a bumper crop this year.
And Balhare says: "Marketing the bumper crop is always a challenge
but the recent trend of malls and big retail chains has been
beneficial for the farmers. Reliance comes to our village and buys
directly from us... they give us 25 percent more than the other
wholesalers in Mumbai."
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