Contract Farming: Chhota Udaipur Farmers Swap Crops For Profit And Protection From Wild Animals

Chhota Udaipur: Farmers here have switched from cultivating sorghum and maize to farming of Subabul and Eucalyptus in the Chalamli area of ​​Bodeli taluka in Chhota Udaipur district under contract farming from paper manufacturing companies.

It has yielded two benefits for the farmers; first, they have been able to avoid the menace of animals like wild boars and nilgai (blue bulls), and apart from that, farmers in this area have become economically prosperous by selling Subabul worth Rs. 60 to Rs. ₹70 lakh annually through contracts.

Fifteen years ago, farmers in the Chalamli area of ​​Bodeli cultivated maize and sorghum, but they suffered losses due to attacks by wild animals like wild boars and nilgai. Following this, the farmers started cultivating Subabul and Eucalyptus through contracts with paper manufacturing companies. With this type of farming, farmers are earning huge profits without the fear of wild animal attacks.

Approximately 250 large farmers in the Chalamli area of ​​Bodeli have abandoned traditional farming and started cultivating Eucalyptus and Subabul. These trees are harvested every three years. After harvesting, new trees are grown from the sprouts of the same tree trunk. The company with which the farmers have a contract sends its personnel to the fields to cut the Subabul and Eucalyptus trees and take the wood. Eucalyptus sells for ₹6,500 per ton and Subabul for ₹5,000 per ton.

A farm in Chalamli (ETV Bharat)

"I have been growing trees like Eucalyptus and Subabul on 100 acres for the past 15 years. Every year, the company harvests the trees from 5 acres of my land, and ₹60 lakh is deposited into my account by the company," said a farmer, Parimal Patel.

Cash crops that the farmers in Chalamli are now growing. (ETV Bharat)

A farmer leader from Chalamli village, Pariman, says that approximately 250 farmers in the Chalamli area have started cultivating Subabul and eucalyptus trees.

Since paper and plywood are made from eucalyptus and Subabul trees, farmers have started cultivating Subabul because they get good prices for it. Farmers also say that there has been good rainfall in the area for the past three years, which is why many farmers are now cultivating these trees.