CAN AZTEC'S 'TESTICLE' MAKE INDIAN FARMERS RICH?

From south Indian obscurity, avocado is now a premium fruit, fuelling a national farming boom

- Sayantan Bera

Clockwise from top left: Avocado harvesting in progress at the nursery of Westfalia Fruit India in Coorg, Karnataka; Westfalia Fruit's nursery in Coorg; D.M. Kumar, a coffee grower from Coorg, suffered huge losses with anthurium plantations post-pandemic. Now, he is experimenting with avocado in a 3.5 acre plot; Akshath Muthanna, a third generation coffee grower from South Coorg, has diverted five acres from coffee to avocado, hoping for higher returns.

(SAKANTAN BERA)

Gursimran Singh is done with lemons and guavas. A small farmer from Malerkotla in Punjab, Singh flew down to Bengaluru earlier this October, and then hired a car to a remote research station in Chettalli, Coorg.

The purpose of this long journey? Buy avocado saplings.

Back in 2018, Singh had planted a few avocado plants alongside longan and pecan nut trees—all exotic things. The avocado trees are now bearing fruit and selling at a premium. Visitors to his farm pay as much as ₹150 apiece.

So, Singh is now planning to uproot the lemons and guavas, planted in three acres at his farm, and replace them with avocados.

It was an expensive affair. Singh spent nearly ₹7 lakh on 800 saplings and in transporting the plants, a feet long, to Punjab. Now, he wants to sell 200 saplings to other growers and plant the rest.

"I am expecting a yield upwards of 40 kg per plant after four years and a price of ₹150-200 per kg," Singh said. That would translate to an income of close to ₹400,000 per acre, net of all expenses. Of course, as is always the case with farming, there are a few unknowns. It remains to be seen how the plants adjust to the temperature extremes in Punjab where it often touches 47 degrees Celsius during the summer and close to zero degrees in the winter. The price Singh receives will also depend on how domestic production grows in the coming years and the price trajectory of imported fruits.