Farmers go for dates drying to boost value, increase profits

Tadipatri: Dharmavaram village sarpanch Ramesh Naidu raising dates in his 4 acres of land hit upon an idea to dry the dates fruit in sun light so as to lengthen its shelf life and further give value addition. Instead of straight away marketing the fruit immediately after harvesting, he hit upon an idea of increasing its shelf life by drying the fruit, adding value and extending its life. The result is he could boost his selling price from Rs 100 per kg to Rs 800 a kg because of lengthening its shelf life. Other date farmers too are following suit and earning handsomely.

He invested Rs 2 lakh on raising of dates in 4 acres of land. In the first year, he invested Rs 2 lakh and earned Rs 4 lakh, which meant that he earned Rs 2 lakh profit but now after switching over to fruit drying method, he is earning a profit of Rs 700 per kg.

Ramesh Naidu told The Hans India that dates cultivation is proving to be profitable. Investment on cultivation is minimal and profit is double the investment. He is also selling grafted plantings and supplying the same at Rs 42 per plant. Wholesalers are coming to the date farms and purchasing the harvested fruit and there are no marketing hassles. The dried fruits are going for Rs 800 a kg in the two Telugu speaking states as well as in Kannada state.

Dates farming which started in Kanekal in just 5 acres, has now soared to other mandals including Narpala, Singanamala, Rayadurgam, Roddam, Penukonda and Chennekothapalle in 500 acres. So far, from a mere 5-10-acre experimental farming to 1,000 acres. Dates farming once considered impossible and dare devilry is spreading its tentacles in the district but the misconception that the plant being a desert plant hardly needs any water is far from truth.

A farmer by name Kulayappa decided to try dates and raised the same in his 5-acre farm. He planted 350 plants per acre in his agriculture field and purchased each plant for Rs 200. Now, each plant is yielding 150 kg dates. He is marketing the same in Bengaluru. Two families are taking care of the dates farm. Hundreds of farmers are visiting the farm and are surprised to see the plants blooming and fruits yielding immensely.

Farmer Kulayappa, talking to The Hans India stated that the plant reached maturity stage after 3 years and started yielding fruits from the fourth year after flowers first bloomed.

The final fruits yielded a bumper crop to the surprise of everyone as the plant is basically a desert crop and is grown mostly in Israel and Middle East countries. The plant needs less moisture and more sunshine. The date tree requires water at its roots.