Defying All Odds, This Single Mom Is Managing Her Apple Farms To Fulfil Her Husband바카라�s Dream

Nisha Sharma, 44, was completely shattered when she lost her husband in 2011 in a road accident, but that didn바카라�t stop this 10+2 pass-out from making it big. Along with her 13-year-old son, Sharma is achieving all that her late husband had imagined 바카라� She is an independent, self-made and successful apple orchardist at a village Nagri in Shimla바카라�s popular fruit-belt of Jubbal-Kotkhai.

바카라�I produce 500 to 700 box of apples every year, which I market myself at the State Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) regulated wholesale multi-purpose Market at Para la, located next to Adani바카라�s CA storage 바카라�cum-market yard in Shimla district. The market has the most reliable and trustworthy system," she explains.

She also sends the product to the government manned procurement entity 바카라� Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing (HPMC) Corporation, which has a Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).

Nisha says she has no trust in the private wholesale buyers, who often approach her for purchase of apples. These buyers usually don바카라�t pay on time and it gets difficult to chase them for payments.

Commenting on the same, Rakesh Singha, a CPM MLA from Theog revealed that in the areas like Jubbal-Kotkhai and Rohru, many people have been fooled by these small-time apple buyers and agents from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai. Many have just disappeared after the season leaving the farmers in the lurch with post-dated unpaid cheques and court ligations.

However, keeping all this in mind, Nisha has chosen to play safe - She sells the produce to the Para la market only.

She established her orchard with almost1000-odd plants in 1960-65 but after her husband바카라�s death, she supplemented the existing traditional varieties 바카라� Royal, delicious and golden with hybrid high-density plantation of imported spur and Granny Smith varieties.

Nisha proudly says, 바카라�I have learned driving and now I own a private car. I can handle all my orchard operations through-out the year. I do pruning myself, handle sprays, grading and packaging. Nepali labourers who turn-up during the season also provide a lot of support.바카라�

She gets all input materials viz pesticide, insecticides used in the orchard from two-three local dealers

Though admitting that taking care of the home, and teenage son has been a tough job along with farm operations, she says that she is now used to it.

She feels, 바카라�Woman in the mountains are otherwise strong, aware and know how to handle the life and family matters, braving social challenges. It바카라�s all due to high literacy and empowerment in Himachal Pradesh.바카라�