With strawberry and flower cultivation, parched Aravali in Rajasthan is solving its water problems

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

«In time and with water, everything changes» — Leonardo da Vinci.

Strong winds blow across the Aravali hills surrounding the tiny hamlets that dot a valley near Udaipur. The Aeolian process during the winter months shapes the soil and vegetation of the communities in this semi-arid region of south Rajasthan.

Even when the monsoon rains are good, water is scarce here in winter. For the villagers of Alsigarh and Kurabad near Udaipur, this has led to subsistence farming, where just one crop is grown during the monsoon season. During winters, cultivation is minimal.

Most of the farmers around the Aravalli range depend on rainfed agriculture, and so completely on monsoons. During the kharif or monsoon season, maize is cultivated primarily; in the rabi or winter season, some wheat, gram and mustard is grown on residual moisture.

Small villages dot the valley around the Aravali hills. Semi-arid and dry, the winter months are particularly parched

But Badermal, a farmer in Dhorikhera village under the Kurabad area, is now upbeat about his strawberry cultivation. “We started strawberry cultivation in 2023 with 500 plants. We have been doing traditional farming but wanted to try something that had a better income. I expect Rs 20,000-25,000 from the harvest of these 500 plants. Along with strawberries, I will also grow some peas and onions,” says the farmer.

Badermal and many others have now started to look