It is a moment of pride for all of us as Bhaderwah has emerged as the lavender capital of India and Agri StartUp destination,” said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday while inaugurating the two-day lavender festival here.
CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu has organised the event as part of its 'One Week One Lab Campaign'. Dr Jitendra Singh described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India's Purple Revolution and the destination of Agri-StartUps.
The minister said that the valley of Bhaderwah is the best example of the development of the present progressive government at the Centre which should have been celebrated much earlier.
While referring to lavender cultivation in the region, Dr Singh said that lavender is an avenue of employment generation and research opening many paradigms of development.“The lavender cultivation has changed the lives of many farmers and it is heartening to note that Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in the 99th Edition of Mann ki Baat, appreciated the efforts of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM) in supporting farmers in the cultivation of Lavender in the Bhaderwah, Doda district, J&K under CSIR-Aroma Mission,” he said. “Farmers had been engaged in traditional maize cultivation for decades, but some farmers thought of doing something different. They turned to floriculture, that is, the cultivation of flowers. Today, around two and a half thousand farmers are cultivating lavender here. They have also been handheld through the Aroma Mission of the Central government. This new cultivation has greatly increased the income of the farmers.”
Many small and marginal maize farmers in the temperate regions of the Jammu division have successfully adopted lavender, and its cultivation has employed large numbers of farmers and young entrepreneurs in the geographically remote regions of J&K.
Due to the intervention of CSIR-IIIM, a new industry around lavender cultivation has developed in the region. More than 2500 farmers are cultivating lavender in different parts of J&K. Women are primarily employed in the lavender fields for harvesting and processing the flower, which has increased women's income in the region. Many young entrepreneurs have started small-scale businesses through the value addition of lavender oil, hydrosol, and flowers.
As per the government, the net annual income of farmers who switched from maize to lavender cultivation has increased many folds from around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per hectare to Rs 3,50,000 to Rs 6,00,000 per hectare.
It said the farmers of the Bhaderwah, Doda district produced 300, 500, 800, and 1500 litres of lavender oil in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. “They earned Rs 5 crore between 2018-2022 by selling dry flowers, lavender plants and lavender oil,” it said.
