Trailblazer farmer from Maharashtra’s Sironcha shines in pearl farming
A fish farmer from Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district has emerged as a pioneer in pearl farming and is encouraging farmers in Telangana to adopt the unconventional venture. He says favourable conditions, proper training and market linkages can make pearl cultivation highly profitable
Mancherial: In a pioneering effort, a passionate fish farmer from Sironcha taluka of Gadchiroli district in neighbouring Maharashtra is setting an example by excelling in pearl farming, a lesser-explored sector in southern India. He is also encouraging farmers in Telangana to venture into unconventional farming.
Meet trailblazer Ravi Bonginwar, a BSc Biotechnology graduate from Sironcha town. He has been successfully cultivating pearls on 10 guntas, or 1,200 sq yards, of land for the past four years. He became the first farmer to take up pearl farming in the Vidarbha region, comprising 11 districts, including Nagpur and Amravati in Maharashtra, in 2022.
Earlier, Ravi cultivated fish and prawns for 12 years. He once visited the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Bhubaneswar to undergo training on income opportunities through water bodies. He also attended another training programme on pearl farming at the institute. He later started pearl cultivation on an experimental basis and has been growing pearls since then.
“The training at CIFA inspired me to explore pearl cultivation, which is generally confined to north India. Drawing on my experience in rearing fish and prawns, I studied pearl farming, its challenges, profit potential, crop duration, marketing opportunities and requirements thoroughly using the internet,” Ravi told Telangana Today.
Buoyed by the success of his experiment, the innovative farmer founded a company that partnered with another firm for pearl farming and grading. To promote pearl farming and encourage others, he has collaborated with 25 local farmers not only from Sironcha but also from the neighbouring Mancherial and Jayashankar Bhupalpally districts of Telangana.
The 41-year-old observed that the climate and soil in both Maharashtra and Telangana are well-suited for pearl farming. He claimed that a few farmers from the two states are showing interest after seeing the results. He noted that farmers need to enter into agreements with firms that buy and grade pearls.
He said farmers could earn profits of up to 100 per cent through pearl cultivation. He opined that large-scale farming was essential to generate significant revenue. Pearls have huge demand in the international market. They are used not only in ornaments but also in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Pearls produced in India are exported to the UK, he explained.