North Bengal Univ dept starts macadamia nuts cultivation in hills

Siliguri: The University of North Bengal provides new farming opportunities in hills, with the aim of involving a new generation in farming. After strawberries, potatoes, orchids, the Centre for Floriculture and Agri-Business Management (COFAM) department of the university has now introduced the process of macadamia nut cultivation in the hills.

The department has initiated the cultivation as a pilot project by distributing more than 100 saplings free to a small village named Chimney in Kurseong.

Parash Roy, a farmer from the area, has started cultivating Macadamia nuts on his land with those saplings.

“Farming is a tradition of people living in the hills. Nowadays, the new generation is avoiding farming and instead choosing to go outside for work, which will harm the tradition in the future. Therefore, we always try to bring back the interest of the new generation in farming by introducing new crops to the farmers. Therefore, we have started Macadamia nuts cultivation, which could be profitable for farmers,” said Amarendra Pandey, in-charge of COFAM.

Along with hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts, macadamia nuts are also cultivated in Kashmir. However, they are now being cultivated in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pune.

This is the first time this cultivation has started in Darjeeling hills. The temperature of Chimney area is preferable for cultivation because most of the time the temperature is below 30 degrees. The price of one kg of macadamia is about Rs 3,000. If the project becomes a success, it can lead to a high source of income for farmers. It takes about four years to grow fruit on the tree.

“If the project becomes successful, we will provide training to more farmers and distribute saplings for free with the help of the government,” Pandey added.