Cultivation Of Hybrid Tomatoes: Hybrid tomato cultivation is economically empowering tribal families

Hybrid tomato cultivation: Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for tribal communities, but due to low income from traditional agriculture, they remain economically weak. Cultivation of hybrid tomatoes has provided new opportunities for tribal farmers, improving their economic condition. Under this initiative, 40 tribal farmers were linked to the cultivation of hybrid tomatoes and were trained in advanced agricultural techniques.

Tribal farmer Laxman packed his books from the school premises after class VIII. Since then, he joined his family’s farming activities, but was not satisfied with the income from traditional farming. Due to small size of storage, decline in production due to various reasons and unstable price of commodities, the income from traditional crop alone was not enough to meet the total requirements of the family.

Need For Cultivation Of Hybrid Tomatoes

Farmers faced many problems in traditional farming, including declining productivity, small farm size, unstable market prices and low income. Hybrid tomato cultivation provided a solution to these problems and gave farmers an opportunity for higher yield and better income.

Technology and Training

Farmers were trained in advanced agricultural techniques to successfully adopt hybrid tomato cultivation. Farmers were trained at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Banswara, where they were given information about modern tomato production techniques. The training covered the following aspects:

1. Distribution of high quality hybrid seeds.

2. Balanced nutrient management and use of organic manure.

3. Practical training on cultivation of Azolla and vermicompost.

4. Information on crop protection measures and pest management.

5. Regular crop monitoring under the supervision of scientists.

Cultivation Process And Benefits

Hybrid tomato was planted in the month of October and the crop was grown with proper care. Cultivation was done with the help of scientists, which increased the yield of tomatoes and improved the quality.

Key features of hybrid tomato:

1. Higher production than traditional varieties.

2. Less cracks in fruits and good strength.

3. Improved quality and higher yield by growing the crop on the net.

4. Helps in protecting the crop from diseases due to scientific monitoring.

After harvesting, handling, sorting and grading of tomatoes were done in special crate bags, which got better price in the market.

Consequences and Economic Impact

Farmers got significant economic benefits from hybrid tomato cultivation. In one season, 158 quintals of tomato were produced on 0.2 hectares of land, giving farmers a gross income of Rs 95,000, which was almost double compared to the traditional variety.

Benefits derived from hybrid tomato cultivation:

1. Increase in farmers’ income and improvement in livelihood.

2. Reduction in migration of landless farmers.

3. Help in dealing with the problem of malnutrition.

4. Improvement in social and economic status of tomato producers.

5. Some farmers built concrete houses from their income and got children enrolled in English medium schools.

Positive Impact in Society

The success of farmers like Laxman inspired other farmers in the vicinity to adopt vegetable farming. Increasing vegetable production not only increased their income, but also improved the food and nutrition level of families. Natural, human and social capital has been effectively used through hybrid tomato cultivation, making the overall development of tribal society possible.

Economic Empowerment Through Hybrid Tomato Cultivation

Hybrid tomato cultivation has empowered the economic condition of tribal farmers. Advanced agricultural techniques and scientific guidance helped farmers get higher yields and better prices, which improved their standard of living. Seeing this success, there is a need to connect other farmers with advanced agricultural techniques so that they too can strengthen their economic condition and become self-reliant.