Gandhinagar, October 7 (Daily Kiran) : In Gandhinagar, a 70-year-old farmer from Surendranagar district has turned his four acres of turmeric cultivation into a lucrative venture, generating an annual income of ₹10 to ₹11 lakh. Rather than selling raw turmeric, Kalubhai Patel has opted to process it into powder, pickles, and other products.
Patel, who has been practicing natural farming for over 13 years on his 10-acre land in Vadod village, was inspired to adopt this method after observing turmeric cultivation at an agricultural fair in Kagwad. He began with one acre of barren land, gradually expanding to four acres.
To enhance his production, Patel invested around ₹5 lakh to establish a home-based processing unit equipped with a steam boiler, polishing machine, and pulverizer. The horticulture department supported him with ₹2.5 lakh for this initiative. Notably, Patel employs steaming instead of boiling to preserve the beneficial properties of turmeric.
After steaming, the turmeric is dried for about a month before being cleaned and ground into powder. Additionally, Patel creates green turmeric pickles and mouth fresheners. With the help of his family, he packages these products at home and markets them under the brand name ‘Shakti Organic.’
While raw turmeric sells for approximately ₹150 per kilogram in the market, Patel’s turmeric powder fetches ₹350 per kilogram, and his green turmeric pickles are priced at ₹440 per kilogram. His organic products, certified by GOPCA, primarily gain traction through word-of-mouth rather than advertising.
Through this value addition, Patel earns an impressive annual income from the four acres of turmeric. He also practices crop diversification, planting short-duration crops like mung, sesame, and millet after the eight-month turmeric harvest. On the remaining six acres, he cultivates cotton alongside pigeon peas, which enrich the soil with nitrogen, reducing the need for urea. Patel also utilizes a potassium-rich solution made from the leaves of the ak plant.
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