By Our Staff Reporter
Champawat, 11 Apr: The state information department has shared with the media the success story of a 35 year old youth from Champawat, Kamal Giri, who has transformed his livelihood through horticulture by taking benefits of various government schemes to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur. Once a small shop owner, he now cultivates apples, kiwi, peaches, apricots, and vegetables across 35 naali of land, and also inspires others in the region to follow suit.
Giri’s journey towards adopting horticulture began when he learned about early-yielding apple varieties and visited a nursery in Bhimtal. There, he also found out about the Apple Mission Scheme of the Horticulture Department. Once he decided to take to horticulture, he procured 500 apple saplings on subsidy. He also planted kiwi saplings on 10 naali land under the Kiwi Mission and expanded further by cultivating bay leaves and big cardamom on five naali land, alongside beekeeping. Over last few years, he has developed a thriving horticulture venture, including polyhouse vegetable farming, mushroom production, and beekeeping.
Under the Apple Mission, he had received saplings on a 60 percent subsidy, and his polyhouse was built with an 80 percent subsidy. The government support also helped him with the Kiwi Mission and fencing, ensuring his crops remained safe from wild animals despite being located in a forested area. His hard work is now bearing fruit. Last season, he sold 21 quintals of apples, and this season, his kiwi production has commenced. Additionally, he has harvested 15 quintals of bay leaves (Tajpatta) and he also regularly produces and sells polyhouse-grown vegetables.
Commenting on the story, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami claimed that horticulture plays a vital role in strengthening the rural economy of Uttarakhand. He further reminded that government initiatives like the Apple Mission and Kiwi Mission are yielding positive results, boosting farmers’ incomes and addressing migration challenges in the hill regions of the state.
