Facing the dangers of climate change, many farmers in Jammu and Kashmir (India) have switched from growing corn to lavender to combat drought.
Lavender plants do not need too much water. Photo: Guardian
The Guardian (UK) reported that at the end of June and the fields in the village of Lehrote in Doda in Jammu were filled with purple with a characteristic strong scent of lavender. More than 200 farmers here have turned to lavender, starting the local “purple revolution”.
Lavender plants can be grown and grown in nutrient-poor soil, do not need much water but love the sun.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute has presented the prestigious Bharat Bhushan farmer (43 years old) award in the village of Lehrote. Mr. Bharat Bhushan said: “Lavender is very easy to grow and does not require much watering. I also only use cow manure to fertilize the plants ”. In just 2 years, his income was 4 times higher than the previous time when growing corn.
“Seeing my success, many people followed and now there are over 500 farmers in the area growing lavender,” said Mr. Bhushan. He now has a machine to extract essential oils from lavender. One hectare of lavender land can help farmers get 30-45 liters of essential oil.
Mr. Bhushan also shared: “Domestic demand for lavender essential oil is still quite high. We sell distilled essential oils directly to industrial customers in cities in India such as Mumbai and New Delhi. We also sell lavender to the dried flower dealer or to soaps and room fragrances.
Mr. Bhushan was inspired to grow lavender from a video of a 2016 conference in which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) launched a program called “Mission Scents” to encourage Farmers affected by climate change cultivate crops such as lavender, lemongrass, rosemary and medicinal plants like ashwagandha …
You must log in to post a comment.