PESHAWAR: Strawberry crop more profitable, says study
PESHAWAR, Sept 21: A research study, conducted by the Pakistan Agriculture and Research Council (PARC), Islamabad, has showed that the net profit from the cultivation of strawberry is 10 times higher than wheat and four times higher than the sugar cane crop.
The research was conducted by PARC scientists Shaukat Hayat Saddozai and Ghulam Sadiq in the Charsadda district in order to not only estimate the net profit from strawberry cultivation but also to compare it with other competitive crops of the area.
The researchers have found that the area farmers on average get Rs111,861 per acre as net income from the strawberry cultivation. On the other hand, the peasants get Rs11,385 from the wheat crop and Rs30,426 from the sugar cane crop per acre as net return.
However, strawberry cultivation is much laborious and costlier than the sugar cane and wheat crops’ cultivation.
The labour days engaged for strawberry are about 196 while this figure remains at 76 days for the sugar cane crop and only 16 days for the wheat crop.
Likewise, strawberry cultivation requires Rs42,890 per acre for its operational activities, whereas one acre of the sugar cane crop requires about Rs9,313 and Rs4,689 for the cultivation of wheat.
Strawberry cultivation in the maximum area can not be recommended as compare to wheat and sugar cane. Farmers cultivate wheat as a traditional crop regardless of its cost and net profit.
Strawberry acts as a complementary crop for sugar cane. The practice of inter-cropping sugar cane in strawberry is very much common, the research study shows. The area farmers possess much potentials for strawberry cultivation. They face no problem with management practices, sapling collection and awareness about different diseases.
The farmers of the Charsadda district collects strawberry saplings from Swat which is too far. Therefore, the scientists have recommended that arrangements be made for convenience of the farmers about the collection of saplings locally.
As strawberry is highly perishable commodity, the farmers should be trained and provided with funds for appropriate packing materials, the study has suggested.—APP
