Jaipur: Reviving faith in a crop once touted as a game changer for farmers in the desert state, the olive oil extraction mill at Lunkaransar in Bikaner started operations Wednesday, processing around two tonnes of olives.Over the next fortnight, another farmer is expected to begin harvesting nearly three tonnes of fruit from his orchard.Secretary, Olive Growers Welfare Association, Deepak Saharan said total fruiting from orchards of the farmers could exceed 10 tonnes this year, the highest output in the past five years, although still well below the levels seen in 2020.“Some farmers have sold their produce directly to traders instead of bringing it to the mill because the quantities were small and they received Rs 250-300 per kg at the farm gate,” he said.The fresh harvest comes after years of poor yields that eroded confidence in olive cultivation and prompted many farmers to abandon the crop. The area under olive cultivation has shrunk from about 1,000 hectares to nearly 300 hectares.Following repeated representations by growers to the state govt and Union agriculture ministry, a scientific study was commissioned under Jagadish Rane, former director of Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (CIAH), Bikaner, to examine the reasons behind the decline in productivity.Speaking to TOI, Rane said the recent fruiting demonstrates that olives can still thrive in Rajasthan. “If orchards are flowering and fruiting, it means the crop has a future here. However, we need to identify varieties better suited to Rajasthan’s climate and soil conditions. Improved orchard management is equally important to ensure consistent flowering and fruiting,” he said.The optimism is reinforced by developments across the border. In neighbouring Pakistan, which shares climatic and soil characteristics with western Rajasthan, olive cultivation has expanded significantly over the past decade.With around 60,000 acres now under olive orchards, Pakistan’s experience is increasingly being cited by growers as evidence that the Mediterranean crop can succeed in the region under the right mix of varieties, scientific support and farm management practices.
