The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : `Vanilla crop ideal for north coastal districts'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 01, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

`Vanilla crop ideal for north coastal districts'

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, JULY 31. The land and climatic conditions of north coastal Andhra are suitable for cultivation of vanilla, a commercial crop use as flavouring agent and which is fast gaining importance.

The returns are also good with a farmer able to earn up to Rs. 2 lakhs from the first crop itself with an investment of Rs.15,000 on around 200 plants grown on a 10 to 15 cents area of land. While the first yield of 100 kg is derived after two-and-a-half years, the yield will go up to 200 kg for the second crop and will improve every year up to 500 kg. The life of the plant is 15 years. These details were given by K. Satyanarayana of the Corporate Argo Farms, a firm promoting vanilla cultivation, at a press conference here on Saturday.

The mixed nature of red and sandy soil of north coastal Andhra districts, absence of water stagnation due to the area being upland and the available water being adequate, could vanilla cultivation a success, he said.

Mixed crops beneficial

The farmers would be benefited if they cultivated vanilla as a mixed crop by raising it in coconut or cashew groves or similar crop.

Vanilla has a good market, according to him. Six dealers in the country are accepting the crop while the agricultural wing of the State Bank of India was also receiving the crop for export, Mr. Satyanarayana said. The present rate being paid by the dealers was Rs. 4,200 per a kilogram. Even if the rate had dropped to half this price, the farmer would make Rs. 2 lakhs from his or her 200 plants, he said. Vanilla is being raised in an extent of 1,800 hectares in India. The few farmers in the State, like the ones at Eluru and Salur, were experiencing good profit from the crop.

The Corporate Agro Farms was keen that every farmer in the State should be growing at least 200 vanilla plants.

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