30 Ginger farming in bunches; A net profit of four and a half lakhs in 14 months, the success story of a Kopargaon farmer

Success Story: Even today many people have the impression that agriculture is a loss-making business. Climate uncertainty, unseasonal rains, droughts, rising production costs and market fluctuations pose major challenges to farmers.

But Manoj Gonte, a farmer of Ogadi village in Kopargaon taluka of Ahilyanagar district, has proved that good profit can be made from agriculture with proper planning, use of modern technology and market research.

Manoj Gonte’s family has an ancestral farm. Earlier they were growing traditional crops like soybeans, maize and tur. But as the income was getting less compared to the increasing expenditure, there was no economic progress.

So they started looking for alternatives to traditional crops. After studying market demand, price fluctuations and experiences of other advanced farmers, he decided to cultivate ginger as a cash crop.

He planted eight quintals of Mahim seeds in just 30 guntha areas. Soil tillage, application of organic fertilizers and proper basal dose were given before planting.

He paid special attention to water planning, timely weed control and disease management. The cost of the whole crop was about four and a half lakh rupees. Although ginger is an expensive crop, production has increased with proper management.

By the time the crop was harvested after 14 months, market prices had fallen. But without haste, they stored ginger and waited for the right price. After a few months, the market price increased to Rs. 40 per kg.

From total production of 280 quintals, he got an income of about nine lakh rupees. After deducting the expenses, they got a net profit of four and a half lakh rupees.

Due to this successful experiment of Manoj Gonte, the farmers of the area have got a new direction. He has shown that large profits can be made even from a small area if there is planned agriculture, patience and market studies.