India is the first country in the world to be a producer, consumer and exporter of black pepper. Kerala accounts for 90% of the total production of black pepper. Apart from being the king of spices, it also has medicinal properties. Because of this, it is in great demand in foreign markets as well. Due to this, it is also known as ‘Black Gold’.
Cultivation of black pepper brought Padma Shri honour
For spreading this magic of black pepper, Meghalaya farmer Nanadro B Marak has been honoured by the Government of India with the country’s highest award Padma Shri. Unlike all the farmers, Nanadro cultivates black pepper without using chemical products. Although farming is not easy, but Nanadro has set an example among the farmers with his hard work and dedication.
Pepper cultivation started like this
Nanadro started farming with an investment of only 10 thousand rupees. During this, he planted 100 trees using chemical products. Although Nanadro suffered damage to the pepper trees for the first three years, he stuck to his intentions without giving up. He cultivated black pepper using nature-friendly pesticide products.
Today, he is getting an average yield of more than 3 kg of pepper per tree, which is almost three times more than the production of other states. With the passage of time, he also increased the number of pepper trees. Due to this, they are earning a profit of lakhs of rupees.
Seeing this dedication and love for the environment of Nanadro, the Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri on the 72nd Republic Day. Keeping the health of the soil intact, he used organic manure. Due to this, today Nanadro has become an inspiration for the rest of the farmers.
Source: Krishi samadhan
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