The switch to high-value crops has provided economic stability to these farmers and their efforts highlight the untapped potential of horticulture in Punjab.
The lush fields of Jangal village in Pathankot are witnessing a quiet revolution in horticulture, led by a farmer who quit his high-paying urban job to return to his roots. Raman Salaria, a 40-year-old civil engineer, left a lucrative job with the Delhi Metro to cultivate a variety of horticultural crops.It was seven years ago that Salaria took the bold decision to leave his Rs 1 lakh-plus monthly pay in DELHI. Motivated by the desire to stay closer to his parents and embrace a less stressful lifestyle, he shifted to his native place. Today, he manages a diversified 10-acre farm cultivating strawberries, dragon fruit, watermelon, turmeric and onion.“My parents didn’t want to relocate, so I decided to return. Now, I earn much more than my previous job, and the stress is significantly less,” Salaria says, adding that he did not want to grow traditional crops like wheat and paddy as they were neither profitable nor sustainable. “Paddy is a big water guzzler,”
