Haveri: While farmers struggle to grow various types of fruits, young farmer Kiran Kumar Kallimani from Angarakatte in Rattihalli Taluk has set an example by cultivating ten different varieties of fruits on his land.

A few years ago, Kiran Kumar, like many other young people, headed to Bangalore. He worked in a private company there, earning a salary of several thousand rupees, and aimed to build his life in the city. However, the arrival of COVID-19 three to four years ago changed his plans, prompting him to leave Bangalore. Speaking about his journey young farmer Kiran Kumar Kallimani shared, “During the COVID period, I bid goodbye to my private job in Bangalore and turned to fruit cultivation. I have about eight acres of land, out of which I have developed a garden with fruit trees on two acres and five guntas. After leaving Bangalore, my brother Praveen, who lives in the village, came forward to help me.” In 2022, Kiran Kumar cultivated various fruits in his garden, including 2,000 dragon fruits, 150 apples, 50 oranges, 11 Thai white pomelo, 10 chakkota, 1 miyazaki mango, 10 star fruits, and 4 butter fruits. He invested around 10 lakh rupees to plant these eight varieties of fruit trees, and now he has started earning income from his efforts.

“I have grown dragon fruits on one acre, with 500 stakes, each with four saplings, totaling 2,000 saplings. We are earning between seven to eight lakh rupees per acre. All the plants are growing well, but the apple trees are weak. We are currently researching how to recover them. Most of our income is coming from dragon fruits.”