Jammu’s Purple Revolution
Lavender brings in a scent of profit for Doda farmers, Around 500 farmers across villages in Doda had their incomes quadrupled after shifting from maize to lavender.
About Purple Revolution
- Most farmers of Khillani village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, used to cultivate maize.
- Then, in 2016, the Centre launched Aroma Mission to boost cultivation of plants like lavender which have aromatic medicinal properties.
- Around 500 farmers from Doda district have seen similar gains after switching from maize to the perennial flowering plant.
- As the profits started flowing in, lavender replaced maize plants on more land around with lavender till the flowers covered almost ten times the area than a decade ago.
Purple economy
- Lavender oil sells for at least Rs 10,000 per litre, according to scientists from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM Jammu), the two bodies responsible for taking the Aroma Mission forward.
- A minimum of 40l of lavender oil is produced from lavender grown over one hectare of land. However, because Doda is flatter than desirable, 32-40l of lavender oil can be extracted per hectare from the local produce
- Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks.
- Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners.
- Apart from increasing farm incomes, lavender cultivation also provided employment to the district’s women farmers.
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