This is a typical example of how barren wastelands can be utilized for promotion of horticulture and to turn hill-slopes into mango and cashew orchards, thus making them ecologically sustainable, more productive, thereby creating employment for the landless and small and marginal farmers of Konkan region.
Deforestation in Konkan region has rendered hill-slopes barren and hard rock surfaces remain exposed to high intensity heavy rains for decades. These lateritic barren surfaces in the Konkan region around Devgad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg of the Western Ghats have become degraded lands and do not fulfil their life-sustaining potential. This has resulted from inherent and imposed disabilities such as by location, environment, chemical and physical properties of the soil, financial or management constraints.
The system of planting Alphonso mango and cashew nut on these exposed, barren laterite rocks (qualifying as wastelands, termed Jambha Dagad locally) ofKonkan region, is a successful soil management module developed by local farmers, in practice for decades now. This is a unique model for sustainable development of Wasteland with a Tree-based farming System under a very fragile ecosystem of Western Ghats under high intensity and heavy rainfall. Today the mangoes grown in the district of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg carry the GI tag and are marketed as the very special Ratnagiri Alphonso or Haapoos. In fact, farmers from these two districts created a “Market Brand”and have been awarded with Global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certificate that enables them to export their mangoes.
Development of the system
As this region is made up of majorly laterite hard rocks, it was difficult to plant mango and cashew grafts. Growers uprooted existing trees of other species that had grown in the cracks on the laterite rock, blasted these hard rocks and made structures like a big bowl (see photographs) to suit planting of mango grafts by exposing the laterite rock and filling with soil brought from outside. The grafts planted thus survived and produced alphonso mangoes that tasted very different from mangoes of the other regions. This was attributed to typical weather conditions and soil characteristics in the geographical region. Today, following this method, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad districts of Maharashtra together have around 130,000 hectares dedicated to alphonso cultivation, and these wastelands are now goldmines.
Management: On bare rocks(locally called katals), mango has to be taken care of well in the early stages. Earthing is done regularly to give support and to provide sufficient ground for feeder roots to grow and develop in this harsh, rocky environment. After three years (when roots have penetrated deep), watering is not required, though thereafter, manures are added to help vigorous plant growth. On the wind-ward sides (i.e. the southern and the western sides) a small semi-circular stone wall (locally called Gadaga) is constructed to avoid uprooting of the trees by strong winds. This protection is very necessary as the roots of trees on katals do not go deep but spread all over. It also facilitates manuring. The trees on katals are dwarf and bushy, a very desirable horticultural trait for ease in management like facilitating plant protection operations, plucking of fruits and better care of inflorescence.
The uniqueness of the system lies in bringing such wasteland into a very highly sustainable production system. This unique system established vegetation in exposed barren laterite rocks in a heavy-rainfall belt and protected the soil from erosion. It has found a place on the world map,and has shown how an entirely harsh-terrain wasteland can be converted into an environmentally, economically and socially accepted sustainable, productive system.
The flip side: Expansion of horticulture in the recent past has structurally altered the agrarian economy of the region. Earlier the small farmer used to grow food and a number of other crops for self-consumption. However, over the years, diversity inthe used crops reduced. Crops such as turmeric, chilli, sesame, and sugarcane (grown thirty years ago) are no longer grown. Earlier, food grains grown by the farmer provided him with food throughout the year; yet now, according to them, rice grown by them suffices only for six to eight months. Apparently, this is despite an increase in rice yield following improved technologies. They now depend on their orchards to get them cash through sale of mango and cashew to fulfil their other needs, including shortage of food grains.
Alphonso orchards on exposed surfaces of lateritic rocks in Devgarh region of Maharashtra
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