High-tech rose farming is being carried out in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. Farmers are producing Dutch variety roses. Farmer Girja Nishad, who started rose farming by bringing changes to his traditional farming methods, is now earning lakhs of rupees annually. The Dutch roses thus produced are not only gaining popularity in Raipur, but also in other cities. This has made a positive impact on his life as well.

There is a huge demand of flowers, including roses, for decoration in the state capital Raipur as well as in other major cities of State. Keeping this in view, State Government is encouraging flower cultivation by farmers. Department of Horticulture, Government of Chhattisgarh provides technical guidance in addition to building polyhouses and other facilities under the National Horticulture Mission for advanced flower farming. Farmers can also obtain loans for building polyhouses through banks. Shri Girja Nishad from Chogel village in Kanker district is earning around Rs 9 to 10 thousand per day by cultivating Dutch variety rose plants of Netherlands in the polyhouse builtin one-acre area on his farm. He is able to yield 45 to 50 kg of rose flowers per day from just one acre of land, which are then packaged and sold in Raipur for Rs 200 per kg. Girja stated that he has hired four workers for the purpose of harvesting and maintaining the flowers in the polyhouse. He further explained that, unlike other crops which require three to four months of hard work and only produce once, rose farming starts producing after two to three months of planting and continues for three consecutive years. After three years, the rose plants are replanted and cared for through pruning and cutting. An official of the Agriculture Department informed that farmer Girja Nishad received a subsidy of Rs 31 lakh from the National Horticulture Board for his rose cultivation and polyhouse construction. The soil suitable for rose cultivation must be porous with good drainage. Since the stony Marhan soil in Shri Girja’s field was not suitable for growing food grains, he opted for rose cultivation, which has been successful. The official said that the rose is often referred to as the ‘king of flowers’ and is in high demand in both national and international markets. Various products such as gulkand, rose water, oils, cosmetics, soaps, incense sticks, perfumes, jams, jellies, beverages, and more are made from rose flowers. Therefore, farmers can earn a good income from rose cultivation.