Chilli growers of Ferozepur set an example for coming out of wheat-paddy cycle

Chilli growers in Punjab's border district of Ferozepur are setting an example for other farmers for coming out of the wheat-paddy crop cycle and successfully reaping rich dividends without depending on the traditional crops.

With not many people knowing Ferozepur as one of the biggest cultivators of chilli crops in the state, the Punjab government has recently announced to set up a chilli cluster in the border district as part of its campaign to promote crop diversification programme.

Under the chilli cluster development programme, a group of chilli growers will be provided technical support for reducing input costs and further improving crop quality to tap its export and domestic markets, said officials.

Close to 10,000 hectares of land is under chilli crop in Punjab with about 20,000 metric tonnes per annum of output. Ferozepur has the maximum area under the chilli crop in Punjab.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the leading states in the country as far as cultivation of chilli crop is concerned, said farmers.

According to chilli growers, they earn around Rs 1.50 to 2 lakh per acre out of chilli crop after deducting input costs and other expenses. The income is way above an average of Rs 90,000 per acre one can make out of wheat and paddy, they said.

Chilli crop is planted in October-end and November, while harvesting starts in March-end and April, said farmers. Some growers even continue with the crop till August thus a need does not arise for transplanting water-guzzling paddy during the Kharif season.

Manpreet Singh, a progressive grower of chilli crop, said he earns Rs 2 lakh per acre income from the crop. Singh grows chilli over 100 acres of land at village Lumbriwala, Ghal Khurd block in Ferozepur.

Singh said red chilli fetches Rs 230-240 a kg while green chilli gets Rs 20-25 per kg.

“We used to grow chilli till June but last year we took it to August. Therefore, there was no need for sowing paddy as chilli fetches more returns,” said the 32-year-old farmer.

Singh said chilli of Ferozepur is now being recognised and traders from other places like Ganganagar in Rajasthan and even Andhra Pradesh have started coming to buy the crop from here.

Parrot green chilli has demand in places like Gujarat while dark green chilli is supplied to places like Nagpur, Indore and Bhopal.

In the Ferozepur district, three blocks — Ghall Khurd, Ferozepur and Mamdot are known for cultivating the chilli crop.

Punjab Horticulture Director Shalinder Kaur said a cluster development approach has been adopted to increase income and reduce the input cost of farmers.

She said the department will do handholding of chilli growers and help them further improve crop quality for tapping export potential.

"20 (chilli) farmers have already come up and we are doing the hand-holding wherever required," she said.

"We want farmers to grow chilli absolutely scientifically," she stressed.

When quality production starts to come, private entrepreneurs will also start approaching farmers directly for buying their crops, said the official.

Hardeep Singh, another chilli grower from village Bareke in Ferozepur, suggested a processing unit be set up in Ferozepur for making chilli paste and other items to boost the cultivation of this crop.

Besides Ferozepur, chilli is grown in other districts like Patiala, Malerkotla, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur.