Marigold Farming Boosts Income and Self-Reliance for Doda Women

Women from self-help groups in Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir, are earning higher incomes and gaining self-reliance through marigold farming under the Floriculture Mission, according to officials involved in the project.

The initiative, run by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, has become a major means of economic empowerment for women in the district. Groups linked to the National Rural Livelihood Mission in Sartingal village of Bhaderwah and the Athkhar valley are now generating extra income from commercial flower production.

The farming work is being carried out with technical support from CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM). Women have started cultivating marigold on barren land, and the effort is being coordinated by Nadia Farooq, a cluster coordinator under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Farooq explained that women were given quality seedlings, training in modern agricultural methods and expert guidance under the Floriculture Mission scheme of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

She said the trial in her cluster was started by five women who planted marigold on barren land. The results were encouraging. For the past month and a half, the women have sold their flowers to suppliers in Jammu, earning a steady income.

Before switching to flowers, the women grew maize. Farooq said they were encouraged to change crops after meeting a rural officer from IIIM, who also supplied the seeds used for the new venture.

During Navratri, the women saw strong returns. Prices that normally range between Rs 30 and 35 per kg rose to as much as Rs 60 per kg because of heavy festive demand.

Farooq said the group is working to encourage more residents to adopt marigold farming alongside their traditional crops. Training, seeds and financial assistance are being provided to help them become economically independent.

Rani, a woman associated with the initiative, has emerged as a local role model. She has been part of the Ummeed Yojana for eight years and began her enterprise with a small business. For the last three years, she has also grown marigold.

Rani said she has sold marigold flowers worth more than Rs 3 lakh in the market, which has provided her family with a strong additional source of income. She noted that regular training, seed support and awareness programmes from the Floriculture Department have improved both farming quality and output.