60-year-old Lal Singh cultivates chillies in an arid region, using mulching and drip irrigation techniques to earn Lakhs
Born and brought up in an arid, barren hilly region of Rajasthan, Lal Singh never imagined he would earn well by farming chillies. For almost forty years, Lal Singh from Singhatwada village in Udaipur Bhilwara district of the state practised conventional farming – growing corn and wheat. He says he never managed to earn more than Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per quintal per year from his one and a half-acre plot of land.
“This amounted to earnings of about Rs 15,000 from two seasons. The rainfall is about 580 mm in a year. Much of the rainwater runs off the hilly slopes due to barren land, leaving farmers to rely on groundwater,” he added.
But, in the last one year, he made Rs 2.5 Lakh by selling chillies. Rs 15,000 to Rs 2.5 Lakh – now that’s an…