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Taking advantage of the state government schemes and with their own efforts and hard work farmers of this district has given a unique identity in the field of farming to this district. Now several farmers of this district are taking interest to cultivate forest medicinal plants along with their traditional farming.
Around 300 farmers of 20 villages of this district has started cultivating forest 'Tulsi' in an area of 60 acres of land. Several farmers of villages like Sinhanivas, Amarpur, Gopalpur, Mudheri etc of this district are now interested to cultivate 'Van Tulsi' along with their traditional crops. These farmers are getting kits of seeds of 'Van Tulsi' from the horticulture department of the state government. Introduced on an experimental basis, in the first year, the farmers produced around 12 quintals of 'Van Tulsi'.
A young farmer of Sinhanivas village, Shri Bharat Singh started cultivation of 'Haldi' (Turmeric) and 'Van Tulsi' for the first time along with traditional crops like wheat, gram, mustard, and tomato. Shri Singh informed that with the cooperation and advise of the horticulture department he decided to start cultivation of 'Van Tulsi'. If proper marketing facility is available, cultivation of 'Van Tulsi' would be more profitable than the traditional crops. Balram, Sarvan, Badam Singh, Shyam Singh, Devendra, Kailash, Dinesh, Halke Ram Jatav, Suresh Adivasi, Hari Jatav and several others of this village are also turned towards cultivating of 'Van Tulsi'.
Assistant Director (Horticulture) Shri R S Sengar informed that for the first time in the district the department distributed free of cost 6000 mini kits of 'Senticom Osium' (Van Tulsi) to 70 farmers of each development block. Seeds of 'Van Tulsi' is sown in the month of November and December.
Seeds of this plant would be ready for harvest in the month of February and March. He said that the main purpose of this programme is to create interest among farmers to cultivate medicinal plants which is less costly and more profitable. He said that the target is to distribute 7 thousand mini kits of seeds of 'Van Tulsi' this year to the farmers. The farmers have been advised to sell the seeds at Neemuch and Mandsaur medicinal crop mandis through the medium of grounds level employees of the department.
The Central Chronicle, 11 May, 2010, http://centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=35194
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