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Taking
advantage of the state government schemes and with
their own efforts and hard work farmers of this
district has given a unique identity in the field of
farming to this district. Now several farmers of this
district are taking interest to cultivate forest
medicinal plants along with their traditional farming.
Around
300 farmers of 20 villages of this district has
started cultivating forest 'Tulsi' in an area of 60
acres of land. Several farmers of villages like
Sinhanivas, Amarpur, Gopalpur, Mudheri etc of this
district are now interested to cultivate 'Van Tulsi'
along with their traditional crops. These farmers are
getting kits of seeds of 'Van Tulsi' from the
horticulture department of the state government.
Introduced on an experimental basis, in the first
year, the farmers produced around 12 quintals of 'Van
Tulsi'.
A
young farmer of Sinhanivas village, Shri Bharat Singh
started cultivation of 'Haldi' (Turmeric) and 'Van
Tulsi' for the first time along with traditional crops
like wheat, gram, mustard, and tomato. Shri Singh
informed that with the cooperation and advise of the
horticulture department he decided to start
cultivation of 'Van Tulsi'. If proper marketing
facility is available, cultivation of 'Van Tulsi'
would be more profitable than the traditional crops.
Balram, Sarvan, Badam Singh, Shyam Singh, Devendra,
Kailash, Dinesh, Halke Ram Jatav, Suresh Adivasi, Hari
Jatav and several others of this village are also
turned towards cultivating of 'Van Tulsi'.
Assistant
Director (Horticulture) Shri R S Sengar informed that
for the first time in the district the department
distributed free of cost 6000 mini kits of 'Senticom
Osium' (Van Tulsi) to 70 farmers of each development
block. Seeds of 'Van Tulsi' is sown in the month of
November and December. Seeds of this plant would be
ready for harvest in the month of February and March.
He said that the main purpose of this programme is to
create interest among farmers to cultivate medicinal
plants which is less costly and more profitable. He
said that the target is to distribute 7 thousand mini
kits of seeds of 'Van Tulsi' this year to the farmers.
The farmers have been advised to sell the seeds at
Neemuch and Mandsaur medicinal crop mandis through the
medium of grounds level employees of the department.
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