Rajiv K. Phull
In our endeavour to honour different personalities of the state and salute their devotion in their respective fields of specialisation, Himachal This Week last week carried achievements of folk singer Sunil Rana having a dozen albums to his credit. A regular folk singer at Akashwani, Shimla and Dharamshala since 1999, he has been performing at different stages on various occasions across the state.
This week finds the mention of an innovative farmer Dr. Vikram Sharma who has not only grown plants of coffee successfully in Himachal but has also motivated other farmers and horticulturists to undertake its cultivation. It was a chance visit to Chikmanglur in Karnataka where Dr. Vikram Sharma got the idea of growing coffee in Himachal that has similar climatic conditions to those prevailing in coffee growing areas in southern state.
Innovative Farmer of the Year: Dr. Vikram Sharma
Citation: Born in 1971 in a Bilaspur village, Dr. Vikram Sharma did his PhD in Organic Chemistry in 1998 and joined a central institute as a scientist. He got the idea of coffee cultivation in Himachal during his visit to Chikmanglur in Karnataka that has similar climatic conditions. Having started coffee plantation in 1999, Dr. Vikram Sharma has produced coffee on his barren land.
For his successful innovative trials in coffee production for providing a commercial alternative to hill farmers, Himachal This Week confers on him Himachal Excellence Award 2016.
Hailing from a sleepy village Marhana in Ghumarwin area of Bilaspur district, Dr. Vikram Sharma is putting in efforts for coffee cultivation in districts located in mid Himalaya region. He got the idea of cultivating coffee plants during his visit to Chikmanglur in Karnataka that has similar climate to that of mid Himalayan areas of this hilly state. Having done his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Panjab University in Chandigarh, he joined Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Lucknow as scientist. He started coffee cultivation on a trial basis in 1999 and undertook a lot of experiments since then. In addition, he has motivated numerous framers to go in for coffee plantation. Many farmers have shown interest but coffee production is yet to achieve the desired level in this hilly state. DR. Sharma expects cooperation from the state government, Agriculture Department and other agencies so that farmers can strengthen their economy by growing coffee on a commercial basis. He has experimented with seven coffee varieties but found Chandragiri and S-9 most suitable for ago-climatic conditions of Himachal. He was also nominated as a member on Board of Directors of Coffee Board of India. He rues that three research institutes in Himachal have not developed even a single commercial crop for farmers and horticulturists of the state.
He says that coffee seeds, growing technique and information on processing and marketing would be provided to farmers of lower areas under a pilot project. Dr, Vikram Sharma has grown coffee plants on his barren land in past 16 years and even Coffee Board of India’s research team has also found lower areas of Himachal suitable for coffee production. Coffee is a commercial crop and India accounts for nearly 60% of world’s total coffee production. Dr. Sharma says that barren land of Himachal farmers will produce green gold if coffee cultivation is introduced scientifically in a proper manner here.
-By Rajkumar Sen/Ghumarwin