Media plays a vital role in common man’s life for generating awareness of latest happenings around his surroundings. Well, the same holds true in any sector including those in farming business as well. Programs related to farming on TV, a news in regional or national newspaper or regional news telecast, is all that can make us and our farmer friends aware of what goes on in farming. The news on Modi government all desperate to make India game for GM crops is an eye catcher and has gained nationwide attention. Besides such trendy happenings in farming, there are snippets let out in media that gain effortless attention of public. ‘Drought in Assam, potato farmer commits suicide’, ‘Scientists to investigate methods to control pest infecting cabbage’. ‘Government to fund more to support farmers for cultivation of genetically modified crops’, and the list goes on. These snippets will but ensure that public is aware of what goes around with crop cultivation in India. Indeed, wheat, paddy, vegetables are important, and so is the news covering the challenges faced by farmers who are into crop cultivation. However it would be unfair to seclude the other side of horticulture. Yes, I mean to highlight the Floriculture sector of India in here, which has gained minimal or perhaps negligible media coverage so far.
Probably on the superficial level information on, ‘India to second China in flower production’ and news on ‘Flower cultivation business booming in southern part of India’ is covered. Nonetheless these are important to know, but as a farmer into flower cultivation is this enough? Being in Floriculture a farmer would like to have information on what challenges are faced by farmers into flower cultivation, and what actions are being reciprocated towards these problems by the agricultural industry and government. Like crop cultivation there are problems related to poor yield due to flood, water logging problems and drought that are faced in flower cultivation business too. To narrow down Jasmine cultivation in south India is being affected due to poor rainfall and a drop in ground water, and jasmine farm owners are forced to sell their agricultural lands to allow room for urban apartments. Such setbacks in cultivation are merely bought into notice of common man and farmers. When it comes to scented flowers like rose and jasmine which once were the cultural pride of south Indian girls are now no more fancied upon by women and girls falling for the western trend. This in turn is gradually hampering the sales and income of Jasmine florists. However export of jasmine is still considered and given significance to by the government, to encourage the jasmine farmers with cultivation of this flower. Has this news gone with the wind? There are price inflation concerns and so what is being done to address these issues? Sure, that government is coming forward with steps to address these concerns, but how is the farmer to know these when there is no such coverage on media, it goes as an untold story and the problems faced by floriculturists in India remain a mystery to everyone.
Today floriculture in India has uprooted from its nascent stage and is blooming with immense potential for employment generation and earning foreign currencies through export trends. The foreign market will depend on the quality of the products, and to influence the quality it is important to have an awareness of the latest trends and developments happening in floriculture which cannot be described and glorified enough other than media. Moreover for women in urban India who suffer from unemployment, floriculture is means to generate income. State governments are providing technical and financial support to all those states into flower business to establish proper storage and transportation facilities to avoid running of their products due improper storage. If this information goes untold many florists or farmers would be unable to reap the potential benefits provided by the government. Several schemes have been initiated by the government to help the floriculture industry flourish, however if these are not disclosed through proper channels those into floriculture business will be unaware of solutions to their problems, and may not be able to make their floriculture business flourish. This eventually could lead to a down turn in flower cultivation business with more and more farmers withdrawing without any clue of solution to their problems. This emphasis on the vital role that media plays in terms of influencing a farmer’s business, life and eventually India’s floriculture sector.
Landholding concerns, manure, fertilizers, quality of seeds, biocides, irrigation problems, scarcity of capital, storage and transportation problems, gap in demand and supply, inflation all these count in for challenges faced by farmers in flower cultivation. Why not highlight these problems and the solutions being thought about by the government? A long and promising road ahead that has the potential to put India on the global floriculture map, flower cultivation and farmers into this business are hard to ignore.
Why not unfold their stories and demystify the mystery that can create flowery headlines in media?
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