Ashok Gupta
Contract farming helps both the farmer and the agribusiness firms as the farmer gets readymade market and he can sell his products at a pre agreed price and time while the agribusiness firm gets the raw material of required quality and quantity. Floriculture has great potential in India as well as in Jammu and Kashmir. Contract farming also known as Collective farming of floriculture crops is a labour intensive industry .It is highly perishable and vulnerable to quality parameters and price fluctuations.
Jammu and Kashmir enjoys a unique position which facilitates large number of flowers in high altitude areas. In India, we can now cultivate a variety of flowers including Carnation , Xerbera, Roses ,Tulip and many more. Government of India has identified Floriculture as the Sunrise Industry and accreted it a 100% export oriented status. Owing to the steady rise in the demand of the flowers floriculture has become the commercial trade in agriculture. Floriculture in India is being viewed as a high growth industry. As commercial floriculture of high quality flowers accentuates export. The new seed policy has already made it feasible to import planting material of international standards.
In J&K also likewise in India farmers have been shifting from traditional flowers growers to cut flower for local marketing, thus significantly reducing their dependence to import from other states. Two units for growing Xerbera under controlled conditions have been set up in district Kathua and Jammu under CSS with the assistance of Floriculture Department. One more unit is coming up in 1000sq.meters in Kathua district in this financial year.
The liberalized economy has given an opportunity today to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions .Agriculture and processed food products (APEDA)is responsible for the export and promotion of floriculture in India. One can visit www.apeda.gov.in for firsthand information. For promotion of floriculture products in Jammu one can contact at flori.jammu@gmail.com and for Kashmir contact flori.kashmir@gmail.com.
Floriculture products mainly consist of cut flowers, pot plants, seed blubs ,tubers ,rooted cuttings and dried flowers and leaves. Floriculture crops like Roses, Gerbras Carnitions ,Tulip etc are now extensively grown in green houses. The open field crops are Chrysanthemum ,Gallardia ,Lily Aster, Tuberose, Marigold etc.
Currently the flower trade has attracted the largest demand from an estimated 300 million middle class flower loving people with the consumption in the cities and major towns on an increase at 40 % per annum.
Jammu was traditionally the flower grower of marigold and rose. Due to the status of Temple city, the flower seller usually sell flowers outside the shrines and temples. But in Srinagar, the craze stared only after2008, landmark being the creation of Tulip garden by the Department of Floriculture .Witnessing the immense response floriculture related material selling shops are being established both in Jammu and Kashmir on regular basis.
In floriculture activity only alert market participants have been witnessing success as the product is highly perishable and vulnerable to quality parameters. Quality is of paramount importance in the international trade of floriculture products. Producer thus needs to confirm that the produce is free from any disease and is carefully treated once harvested. Many small units have been facing problems due to uneconomic returns and high overheads leading to re-organization and restructuring of product portfolios by entrepreneurs and thus contract farming is more desirable in floriculture. Thus, it has become the need of the hour. In India as well as in Jammu and Kashmir, there are only few big farmers and more than 76 % are small and marginal farmers. Human labour requirements emerged as a major cost involved in the enterprise. Thus, contract farming is more desirable in the floriculture sector and efforts should be made to bring the small and marginal farmers close to resources. During the training programme on ‘Agriculture marketing reforms through contract farming for increasing productivity and income for farming community’ the undersigned suggested to the Director Extension SKUAST that a policy should be framed by the experts of SKUAST (being a role model)to organize the small and marginal farmers to bring under one umbrella so as to make contract farming quantitatively and qualitatively successful. Jammu and Kashmir state can lead in this field and can set trends for other states enjoying similar geographical characteristics .Further the contract between the growing agencies should be made legal binding to both the parties .By doing so the problem of verbal contracts and later conflicts can be addressed fully.
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