Pomegranates to rescue farmers battling water crisis in drought hit areas

PUNE: Pomegranate is the new symbol of hope for farmers, policymakers and industry alike in water scarce regions. While tribal farmers in Madhya Pradesh are trying out this non traditional crop with government incentives, the Mahindra Group is promoting it in Wardha district of Vidarbha region to alleviate the agrarian crisis.

Even as the area under other fruits either remained stable or declined, pomegranate is the only fruit crop to have registered a 29% growth in the area for the past two years. In Maharashtra, the biggest producer and exporter of the fruit in the country, the best quality pomegranates come from the driest regions of the state such as Solapur and the rain shadow regions of Sangli district.

According to the f i r s t a dvance estimate for 2015-16 available with the National Horticulture Board, area under other fruit crops such as sweet lime, sapota, guava, papaya and mangoes has declined. Pomegranate cultivation has picked up even beyond Maharashtra.

AK Singh, managing director of National Horticulture Board said, “Pomegranate is a dollar crop as it gives assured returns to farmers.

The demand for planting material of pomegranates has been the highest in the last two years.” Pomegranate is not a traditional crop in Madhya Pradesh, which has one of the highest rates of growth of agriculture in the country