PESHAWAR
Strawberry crops produced in district Charsadda have arrived in the market at a lower price for the people.
Compared to last year 240 acres, this year the crop was cultivated on 250 acres. Last year, the produced yield was 705 tons.
The crop is cultivated in the month of November and begins production in February, which continues till April.
Antioxidants in strawberries, including vitamin C, which support the immune system and lower your chances of getting sick when you’re around germs. It also helps curb inflammation, manage your blood sugar, and guard against health conditions like high cholesterol, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Though the fruit is being sold at the rate of Rs.300 to Rs.350 per kilogram, growers are complaining of low price as compared to their cost on its production.
Asad, a local farmer, said that he has been cultivating the crop for the last 8 years, but he has never got profit in proportion to the cost. Growers complain that though the crop cost highly, but due to the prior presence of already produced strawberries in Punjab, they are getting less-price than the farmers of the latter.
The crop of Punjab usually comes earlier in the market, it was sold at the rate of Rs.1400/- per kilogram, while the same fruit produced in KP is sold for Rs.300/- to Rs.350 per kilogram.
In his comments on the production of strawberry crop, an official of the Agriculture Department said that the growers are hesitant in approaching the field officers to get advice regarding improvement in the production. Neither the growers are seeking advice regarding method growing nor about needs of fertilizer, which results in less production.
However, the official said that they always remained in constant contact with the growers in order to provide them firsthand knowledge about its cultivation and diseases and help resolve their problems relating to production and delay in it.
According to experts, the cultivation on one acre produces about 400 kilograms of strawberry and beside markets across the country is also exported to neighbouring Afghanistan.
