Shivpuri Tomato

It is perhaps not known to many that India is the second largest producer of tomatoes in the world with the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha being the top five producers in India. In fact, the state of Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under tomato cultivation and contributes a little more than 15 percent to the total production in the country.

The districts of Shivpuri, Chhindwara and Jhabua as per estimates have the highest area under cultivation as well as the highest annual production in the state. The mandis at Kolaras, Pohri, Bairad and Badarwas see steady business during the harvest season with vendors coming from Lucknow, Agra, Delhi and other cities to purchase the fresh produce.

Small and marginal farmers have hugely benefited from the pro – farmer schemes, incentives, subsidies and monetary assistance offered by the central and state government. This has significantly eased their financial burden, increased their overall income, improved the soil health and allowed them to adopt organic, natural and zero farming in a big way.

Though tomato is grown throughout the year, the peak harvest season is during the months of October, December and January. Marginal farmers particularly women farmers have taken a serious interest in tomato cultivation and prefer to grow both native and high – yielding varieties offered by the central and state government like F1 hybrid, Pusa Early Dwarf, Arka Saurabh, Arka Vikas and some Shankar varieties as well.

The improved indigenous varieties thrive in the sandy and loamy soil found in this district. As these tomatoes are cultivated using organic farming techniques, they have a vibrant colour, good size and shape and are pulpy and juicy. They are rich in potassium and Vitamin B, C and K.

The Shivpuri tomato is preferred by local processing units for its juiciness, colour and ideal sweetness – tanginess. Tomato paste, ketchup, sauce, pickles, juice, puree, jams, rice masala pastes, preserved tomato and others are the main processed products from raw tomatoes.

The establishment of additional food processing units, food clusters and food parks in this district will go a long way to help the farmers, prepare more value – added products and increase export potential.

Written by Lakshmi Subramanian