A cancer hospital has taken the initiative to come up with an alternative farming project in Hunsur, one of the tobacco-growing hubs in the Mysuru region, which encourages tobacco farmers to grow sandalwood and other seasonal fruits.
Sharing the details ahead of the World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the Chairman of HCG, a network of cancer care hospitals, Dr. B. S. Ajaikumar said the project covers a total of 50 acres in the first phase, involving 50 tobacco farmers, each of whom had pledged one acre each of their land for growing sandalwood and other seasonal horticultural crops like guava, sapota etc.
More than 15,000 high-grade saplings and over 8,000 saplings of lucrative seasonal fruits had already been supplied to the farmers free of cost under the project. “We are joining forces with agronomists, ecologists, medical practitioners and other relevant experts to guide the decision-making at every step of the process”, he said.
