Bengaluru, Aug 31 (IANS) Chikkamagaluru, a scenic hill station in Karnataka, has become the talk of town primarily for two reasons – one is its picturesque locations, panoramic views and the other is the endorsement of its distinct coffee and pepper plantations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.
The hilly region, also dubbed the birthplace of coffee, is providing farmers with an alternate source of income as they are using avocado farming as an intercrop during coffee plantations and generating additional income from it.
This practice of avocado farming along with coffee plantations has picked up pace here in the past few months, and with PM Modi acknowledging the hybrid practice, the interest and thrust on it is expected to intensify further.
PM Modi, talking about Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru, specifically mentioned the name of Chandrashekharan, a farmer from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, who began cultivating avocados on half a hectare of land and saw his income rise sharply.
“In Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, some farmer brothers and sisters have even planted avocados amidst their coffee plantations. This allows them to earn additional income alongside coffee and black pepper,” PM Modi said in the 137th episode of Mann Ki Baat.
“We often hear about the avocado toast in city restaurants, but through this very avocado, our innovative farmers have discovered a new recipe for earning,” he added.
Traditionally, the cultivation of coffee, pepper and spices has remained central to Chikkamagaluru. Still, recently, avocado farming as an intercrop has gained wider acceptance because of the additional income that it generates.
In recent years, the farmers’ interest in avocado cultivation has increased significantly. The number of farmers cultivating avocados has seen a considerable rise in multiple locations like Chikkamagaluru, Kalasa, Balehonnuru, Mudigere, Jayapura, N.R. Pura, Koppa and Kadur.
A couple of farmers speaking to IANS said that the demand for avocado-based food products has risen in hotels and restaurants, particularly in the urban centres, and therefore, they are adopting it as a regular practice in their farming.
Another farmer said that the fluctuation in coffee and pepper prices sometimes affects their earnings. Still, avocado farming has meant a steady source of income, and hence, more and more farmers are adopting this.
Another farmer said that the cultivation of avocados alongside coffee has provided them with a new agricultural model of “One plantation, multiple sources of income”, and this has allowed them to do so without even requiring a separate farmland.
–IANS
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