Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Jun 5: Discussion with regards to the future of areca nut farming which is the prominent commercial crop of the farmers of coastal districts has begun. Rumours are rife in public circles that arecanut is bad for health. This has made many arecanut growers doubt whether there will be a market for the product in coming days. For the same reason some farmers have started farming alternative crops. Some bold farmers have started growing a foreign fruit, which has given them not only excellent yield but increased profits also.

Progressive farmer Krishna Shetty of Kadaba taluk of the district took a bold step under these circumstances and started growing Rambutan fruit. He planted 500 saplings of the fruit during the first lock down and has got overwhelming yield during the second lock down. He has got a whopping seven tonnes of yield in just one and a half years and expects to get around eight to 10 tonnes this year.

Krishna Shetty says that in Rambutan farming in one year one can get so much profit that can be got in arecanut farming in four years. He has spent just Rs 15,000 for the maintenance of these plants over a year and has sold the fruit at a rate of Rs 200 to Rs 250 per kilo. His friends have also started farming the same fruit. They have also planned to distribute the fruit in the coastal market at an affordable price. The achievement made by Krishna Shetty in Rambutan farming has inspired other agriculturists towards this crop according to the information provided by arecanut grower R C Narayan.