When queen pineapple cherishes smile to a Jhumia family

Without any government help, the use of pesticide and high yielding supplements, a man from remote Hajrapara of Mungiyakami block that falls under the Teliamura subdivision, succeeded to achieve self reliance through pine-apple cultivation.

The inspiring story of a Jhumia—Prajaham Reang, who is now well-recognized pineapple grower across Teliamura, can be heard almost everywhere. Now Prajaham runs his five-member family well-off in comparison to the hard days he had passed earlier.

Prajaham, who was a Jhumia for a long time, thought of doing something in order to multiply his income. In pursuit of success, Prajaham approached NERMAC centre of 82 miles. He brought some pineapple twigs and planted it in the tilla area where he used to do Jhum earlier. As he said, in the beginning he had to face a lot of trouble in maintaining the plants and to make them grow up since the entire concept of pineapple was new to him. But, with time he got all the odds resolved.

“I have used no pesticide or chemical component in growing my crops. As soon as my crops started getting mature, I started selling in Teliamura market in both wholesale and in retail prices. I have started earning better in comparison to earlier due to this”, he said.

Notably, Prajaham started cultivating his crops in some of the Jhum lands he had in his native village. He planted pineapple as a subsidiary to his main cultivation and now earning good enough for his family since his plantation turned matured. Some of the locals have said, though he is not certified yet, his pineapples are organic in nature and he should go for certification to fetch more profit in the days to come.