How sandalwood’s becoming FD for farmers

Chandrapal Singh found his purpose when his friend Sunil Kumar’s father, a farmer in UP’s Moradabad district, killed himself, unable to repay a loan of Rs 3. 5 lakh. The suicide shook Chandrapal “to the core”, and set him thinking about keeping small farmers out of the debt trap.

“I have heard of loans of Rs 2 lakh becoming Rs 40 lakh,” says Chandrapal, a resident of Balipur village in Bijnor. His research and interactions with farmers across India gave him an answer: “Just plant one sandalwood tree in your wheat and rice fields, even your garden. Just one. An investment of Rs 100 will fetch you Rs 1. 5 lakh in 15 years. Think of it as an FD. ”

In the years since, Chandrapal has taught thousands of farmers how to grow sandalwood trees, and his idea of making “royal sandalwood a people’s tree” has been adopted by seven states. Bijnor’s district agriculture officer Avdhesh Mishra says: “So far, Chandrapal has planted over 20,000 trees in different states. ”

Why sandalwood?
“The decision was guided by the tree’s long-term profitability,” says Chandrapal, who is a commerce graduate. “I was looking for an option that provides financial security without much investment. ”

But growing sandalwood in UP was not going to be easy. Singh found the north-Indian climate is not conducive to sandalwood seed germination. Nonetheless, he tied up with nurseries in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to bring saplings to Bijnor. He started with 200 red and white sandalwood saplings on his 20-bigha farm, and says they will be ready to harvest in 10-15 years.

Leading by example
When Singh succeeded, he started hosting tours in his field and launched awareness programmes on social media. Today, 50 farmers in Bijnor alone grow sandalwood, and there are hundreds of others across UP, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Manoj Sharma from Bharatpur in Rajasthan is one. “I found Chandrapal’s videos on social media. I planted 20 trees three years ago, thinking they wouldn’t survive in Rajasthan’s dry climate, but with Chandrapal’s advice my trees survived. They are 2-4 feet tall now. ” Shiv Charan Singh in Chandpur, Bijnor, planted 10 saplings seven years ago and they are almost 20-ft tall now. “It is an investment for my daughter. In eight more years they’ll beready to harvest,” he says.

While Chandrapal ships large orders of saplings, farmers with smaller orders buy saplings from his farm. Rajkumar came all the way from Ur Bishunpur village in Gaya district of Bihar. “I travelled by train to fetch 70 saplings, of which 66 have survived and are doing well,” he says. He is growing sandalwood to secure the future of his son and daughter. “Ever since I planted the trees, I have been sleeping peacefully. ”

Right technique matters
Chandrapal not only sells sandalwood saplings but also guides the growers. “Taming wild sandalwood is no child’s play, but once the farmers have the know-how, they can easily start their own plantation,” he says.

The sandalwood plant is a ‘hemiparasite’ – it takes macronutrients from the roots of other plants – so it needs a host tree to survive. That’s why Chandrapal advises farmers to grow companion trees like neem, acacia, etc, close to it. Also, sandalwood cannot survive in standing water for long, so it needs good drainage.

Making it more profitable
Chandrapal is now looking at ways to maximise farmers’ returns from sandalwood cultivation. “Sandalwood has a huge market. I have visited factories in Kanpur and Kannauj where oil is extracted. Besides, south India has several units for wood processing. ”

Praising Singh’s efforts, Dr T S Rathore, former director, Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST), Bengaluru, told TOI, “He’s using his knowledge for the uplift of marginal farmers. More power to him and to those who have joined him. ”