Sirmaur Kiwi Farmer Narendra Singh Panwar – Various types of fruits are produced in India, which are not only tasty to eat but are also beneficial for health. In such a situation, the trend of Indian farmers is also increasing rapidly towards growing exotic fruits, due to which fruits like kiwi are being cultivated.
Most of the farmers who do this work come from Himachal Pradesh, because the climate and cool weather there are quite favorable for the cultivation of kiwi. In such a situation, Narendra Singh Panwar (Sirmaur Kiwi Farmer) also decided to cultivate kiwi, through which he is earning up to Rs 15 lakh annually.
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How did the idea of growing Kiwi come about
Narendra Singh Panwar, a resident of Thaledi village in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, is today a Kiwi farmer who has been cultivating this fruit for a long time. Narendra Singh Panwar saw Kiwi plants for the first time in the year 1993, after which the desire to cultivate this fruit started in his mind. He took the help of Dr Dharampal Sharma, working in YS Horticulture and Forestry University, for planting and cultivating Kiwi plants. Narendra Singh learned the smallest nuances of planting kiwi plants, including soil and climate, from Dr. Dharampal, so that he could cultivate kiwi.
In this way, after gathering all the information related to kiwi cultivation, Narendra Singh Panwar bought 170 kiwi plants and sown them in his land, thus the first kiwi garden was started in Sirmaur district.
Sirmaur district is at the fore in Kiwi cultivation
After the cultivation of Kiwi by Narendra Singh, many farmers in Himachal decided to make profit through this fruit. However, in India, the Hayward variety of kiwi can be grown the most and best, which is grown in areas with an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet.
This is the reason that farmers are growing Hayward variety of kiwi in the high hilly areas of Himachal, in which Sirmaur district is at the forefront. The situation is that the farmers of this district are producing such a huge quantity of kiwi that New Zealand is lagging behind in the cultivation of its country’s fruit.
Subsidy is available in Kiwi cultivation
Farmers are also given facilities such as loans and subsidies from banks for better kiwi cultivation. Narendra Singh Panwar had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh under the Horticulture Development Project through the Horticulture Department in the year 2019. In this loan, he was given a 50 percent rebate i.e. a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh.
After this, Narendra Singh Panwar had planted 170 kiwi plants in his personal land, as a result of which today he is earning well by planting 340 kiwi plants. When Narendra Singh Panwar made his first kiwi garden in 1998, he produced 40 quintals of kiwi.
Earning Rs 15 lakh annually
In this way, after cultivating kiwi for a year, Narendra Singh Panwar used to go to Chandigarh for its marketing, thus the next year 130 quintals of kiwi was produced in his garden. Narendra Singh sold kiwis from his garden in Delhi’s fruit market, where he gets Rs 140 to 170 per kg of kiwi.
In this way, by producing Kiwi throughout the year and selling it in different mandis of the city, Narendra Singh Panwar earns up to 15 lakh rupees annually very easily. However, Narendra Singh expects his income to increase in the coming years, as the plants produce good crop year after year.
Garden care and cultivation nuances
According to Narendra Singh Panwar, it is not enough to have a cold climate for the cultivation of kiwi, but to grow this fruit, the farmer has to take care of small things. Kiwi plants require a lot of care and irrigation, so regular watering is essential in the garden. Not only this, the kiwi plant bears heavy and large fruits, due to which the risk of getting insects remains in them.
This is the reason that some person has to take care of the plants all the time in the garden, along with it it is also necessary to spray the medicines regularly on the plants. Narendra Singh Panwar has hired 4 to 5 men in his garden, who look after the plants and look after the irrigation needs. Along with this, the family of Narendra Singh Panwar also works in the garden, because soil fertility, mobilization with irrigation and protecting plants from small insects is a very fine job.
Kiwi works as a pollination
Very few of you would know that kiwi plants also have flowers, which play an important role in pollination. In this way, kiwi fruit comes on the plants in the garden when the process of pollination between female and male plants is completed.
Although animals like butterfly and bee are responsible for the process of pollination, but farmers cultivating kiwi prefer to do this work themselves. For this, he makes the female and male plants touch each other, due to which the process of pollination is completed and fruits start coming on the plants.
Kiwi production is increasing rapidly in the region
The cultivation of kiwi in hilly areas provides economic strength to the people and farmers living there, as employment opportunities are very less in these areas. In such a situation, kiwi is being cultivated in different districts of Himachal, so that the crop prepared from it can be sold in the cities.
Not only this, farmers from different states come to Sirmaur to see the kiwi orchards and learn the nuances of growing the crop from the farmers there, although it is very difficult to grow this fruit in hot states.
