Sweet Charlie, a money spinner in Arunachal

Itanagar, Apr 29: Sweet Charlie and Camarosa, the varieties of the exotic strawberry, has been able to give a boost to the rural economy in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Yuva Vikas Sangathan (YVS), an NGO, has helped to improve the living standards of the farmers by introducing strawberry cultivation in the state.

The move of the YVS is being considered as a 'landmark' achievement as they have proved despite being a temperate fruit it could be cultivated in this Himalayan state The plant starts bearing fruits from the second month and this exotic fruit has a high demand in the market.

The price of strawberry, that usually grows during winter, ranges from Rs 300-250 per kg but in off-seasons it drops to Rs 100 per kg.

The yield varies from 10 to 40 tonnes per acre in ideal conditions within 4 to 5 months time of fruiting.

D K Thongdok, a former state minister, however, said it was not only difficult to convince the farmers to start the strawberry cultivation but also the bankers were reluctant to extend support to these farmers.

However, after constant persuasions from the NGO, some farmers accepted the idea of cultivating the strawberry on trial basis, Mr Thongdok said.

The YVS had been taking care of financial and marketing aspects.

UNI