J-K: Kashmiri woman establishes first Kiwi nursery in the region; inspires entrepreneurship

Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 21 : Amidst a visible worlds recession without being excepted by the government, a girl of South Kashmir has started to "Bite the bullets" by establishing a Kiwi nursery on one kanal of her land which is a unique start-up.

Where normally graduates and postgraduates opt for getting a government job, but this girl Gowhar Jabeena has accepted a challenge to become a self employed person and set up an inspiration for the youth of Kashmir.

For instance, entrepreneurship had never been something that 24-year-old Gowhar Jabeena gave much thought to. She loved her full-time kiwi cultivation in her Nursery under the name of "Green Posh Nursery unit" to become a successful entrepreneur by starting a kiwifruit nursery here in Dabruna Ashajipora area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Gowhar Jabeena, an MSc. Economics and Agriculture students of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) University Kashmir made kiwi cultivation nurseries possible for the first time in South Kashmir after the plants were introduced by SKUAST on an experimental basis. The SKUAST has developed some experimental gardens for kiwi cultivation.

Talking to the reporter, Jabeena said, "Girls should be independent. They should earn with their own hands, she wants to tell the girls to do something of their own, if they don't want to do the same business as Kiwi, then to do some other business from which they can earn and remain independent."

According to Jabeena after doing some research at SKAUST University, I was able to solidify the concept of this kiwi nursery. The tendency was also towards high-density plants. Based on the market structure, the demand for kiwi is considerable. One kiwi pair depending on the plant length costs about Rs 300 to Rs 500. One kiwi costs about Rs 30 to Rs 40 and when the inflation rate is high it costs about 50 per piece. The value of the kiwi is increasing every day in Kashmir markets, she said.

"I started this business two years ago when I was studying at SKUAST University, during my study I thought why not start a business related to agriculture which will give me profit and that I will be independent? I have seen a lot of demand for Kiwis in the market, so I thought why not I will do the same at my home? When I started, many girls called me and said we got inspiration from you, If a man can do it, why not girls," she said.

Jabeena further said that the climate of Kashmir is suitable for this fruit; I wanted to see if kiwi can be cultivated in Himachal Pradesh, why not in Kashmir when both states have almost the same climate?

Jabeena also encourages other girls interested in learning about the Kiwi business to come forward and receive training so that they too can start their own units.

Jabeena's Nursery unit currently has three to four hundred pairs of male and female kiwi plants for sale, people from South Kashmir come to buy in my nursery and till today there are hundreds of such plants which I have sold.

Jabeena stresses that interested customers should purchase both to ensure proper growth.

"There is a lot of potential in the cultivation of kiwi fruit in the valley that will bring double benefits to the farmers in Kashmir," she said.

Last year it was the late Bashir Ahmed War, a farmer from Sopore town in North Kashmir, who made kiwi cultivation possible for the first time in the Kashmir Valley, she added.

Jabeena named her Nursery "Green Posh Nursery Unit" in the Anantnag district where she is now also starting to plant other fruits including walnut, plums, peach, and apricot besides kiwi.

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