Farmers growing flowers can cut their losses sharply by switching to a different method of watering their fields. Those who rely on traditional flood irrigation often fail to spot pest infestations in flowers in time, since the damage is not always visible early, and by the time it is noticed the entire crop has already been ruined. To limit this damage, growers usually respond by spraying pesticides repeatedly, which keeps pushing up their overall farming cost. In Firozabad, farmers are now being advised to adopt a mini sprinkler system, referred to locally as a mini fabbara, which can protect flower crops from disease while sharply cutting cultivation costs and reducing dependence on chemical sprays.
A System That Works Like Rain
Agriculture department engineer Atul Kumar said flower growers are frequently troubled by disease and pest attacks, and once the plants start flowering, farmers end up using various kinds of pesticides, which pushes up the cost of cultivation. On top of that, fields planted with flower saplings need repeated irrigation throughout the growing season, adding further to labour and water costs. Kumar said, "Farmers remain quite worried about diseases and pests during flower cultivation." To escape these recurring problems and still get a good flower yield at a lower overall cost, he said using a mini sprinkler is an effective option. It is essentially a mini sprinkler system that works just like rainfall, sprinkling water evenly across the field. A farmer can irrigate several acres evenly and simultaneously with this single system, instead of watering different parts of the field separately. According to Kumar, a major cause of disease in flowers is dirt and grime that accumulate on the plants over time. The mini sprinkler washes each plant thoroughly from top to bottom every time it runs, which keeps that dirt from building up and stops disease from taking hold in the first place. As a result, farmers end up spending less on chemical treatment while their overall yield also goes up.
Cost of Rs 15,000 to 18,000 Per Hectare, With Government Subsidy
According to Atul Kumar, installing this system costs farmers roughly Rs 15,000 to 18,000 per hectare, which covers the sprinkler setup needed to cover the field. However, farmers do not have to bear this entire cost themselves, since the horticulture department provides a subsidy specifically for installing mini sprinklers. Under this scheme, farmers need to pay only 10 to 15 percent of the total installation cost from their own pocket, while the horticulture department covers the remaining 80 to 90 percent of the cost as subsidy. This means farmers can set up the system on their fields with a fairly small upfront investment, while also freeing themselves over the long run from the recurring expense of pesticides and the labour of repeated manual irrigation.
