As part of our work for helping farmers, we have planted around 10 thousand Melia Dubia trees for better environmental and long term financial help to farmers. Around 800 farmers( with farm land ranging from 3 to 6 acres) planted at the boundaries of the farm or in the open space with 100/120 trees each family.
We have surveyed after 6 months an realized that 80% of the trees are alive and grown at decent rate.
One of the main problems that farmers face today is decreasing income from an acre per year against sudden increase in the value of agricultural lands due to newly formed rural roads, mushrooming of industries, and concrete dwellings.This forces several small farmers to sell their lands and settle in urban concrete jungles.
Diminishing income from an acre against increasing land value, forces many farmers to sell their lands. A family of 4 members need a monthly income of Rs.40,000 from an acre if they have to survive. But today from an acre one gets anything between Rs.10,000 to Rs.12,000.
About Melia Dubia Trees:
Malabar Neem (Melia dubia) is a tropical deciduous tree that grows up to 20 meters height. The tree is one of the fast growing species under irrigated conditions, the trees also aid the planet by preventing temperature rise and checking gas emission into the atmosphere as the trees are naturally endowed to absorb maximum CO{-2}.
The easiest way to increase income from an acre is by planting certain tree varieties such Melia dubia ( Malai Vembu in Tamil) which fetch a handsome price in the market, assured buyback, and require low maintenance expenditure.
Melia is a money spinning tree of short duration. Even if planted as a single row along the field bunds, about 60 trees can be planted per acre, which will fetch an income of about Rs.2 lakhs in the sixth year of planting.
