From Barren Land to Blooming Orchards: The Guava Revolution of Sarkaghat
In the gentle slopes of Sarkaghat, the air is sweet with the scent of ripe guavas. For the farmers of the Gadhani cluster, this fragrance is more than just seasonal; it’s the smell of a transformed future.
Meet Hem Raj, a farmer whose eyes light up as he looks at his lush green orchard. “Last year, I earned around seventy thousand rupees,” he shares, his voice brimming with a new kind of confidence. “But this year, with the market price so good, I’m looking at maybe one and a half lakhs. These little green fruits have changed everything.”
This change isn’t a happy accident. It’s the result of a deliberate push by the Himachal Pradesh government under Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, through its ambitious ‘HP SHIVA’ project. With a budget of ₹100 crore, the project aims to turn horticulture from a mere livelihood into a powerful engine of rural prosperity.
A Community Effort, A Collective Success
The real success story is written collectively. Just three years ago, about 1,200 guava saplings of the ‘Sweta’ and ‘Lalit’ varieties were planted across 1.2 hectares by seven farmers in Gadhani. Today, they stand as a testament to what community spirit and government support can achieve.
Manohar Lal, another beneficiary, proudly shows off his produce. “Taste this,” he insists. “It’s so sweet and of such high quality that people come directly to our farms to buy it. We don’t even have to go looking for the market; the market comes to us.”
For Meera Devi, the benefits go beyond just income. “Before this, traditional farming was a struggle. The profits were low, and monkeys and animals would destroy our hard work overnight,” she recalls. “The solar fencing provided under the project has been a blessing. It protects our crops, and these new plants give us a yield we never dreamed of. We are truly grateful.”
More Than Just a Project, It’s a New Direction
The HP SHIVA project is specifically designed for the state’s subtropical belts. Its goal is simple yet powerful: to create jobs, boost incomes, and breathe life back into barren land by promoting fruits like guava, kinnow, and litchi.
On the ground, this vision is being turned into reality by dedicated officers. Dr. Vipin Kumar, a Horticulture Development Officer, explains, “We don’t just provide plants. We have a team of facilitators and field operators who guide the farmers every step of the way, from land preparation to protecting the harvest.”
The results are tangible. As per Dr. Anil Thakur, a specialist in Sarkaghat, nearly 50 hectares have already been transformed, with a target of 150 more this year. This means the ripple of this guava revolution will soon touch a thousand more families in the region.
In Gadhani, the story is no longer just about a government scheme. It’s a human story of hope, hard work, and the sweet taste of success, one guava at a time.
