Bijnor: Farmers in Bijnor are set to significantly expand the cultivation of Australian beetroot this season, with a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) planning to bring around 2,000 bighas under the crop across Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor and neighbouring Uttarakhand’s Bazpur and Kashipur areas.
Bijnor: Farmers in Bijnor are set to significantly expand the cultivation of Australian beetroot this season, with a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) planning to bring around 2,000 bighas under the crop across Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor and neighbouring Uttarakhand’s Bazpur and Kashipur areas. Last year, farmers in the Nehtaur area cultivated Australian beetroot on nearly 1,000 bighas in collaboration with Creative Farming Producer Company. The FPO procured roughly 1,000 tonnes of the produce at Rs 400 per quintal—matching the prevailing sugarcane rate—and processed it into jaggery and silage. Building on that success, the company has distributed seeds to growers across Bijnor and Kashipur at Rs 600 per bigha this season.
FPO member Varun Kumar told TOI that it is the first plant set up specifically to produce jaggery from beetroot. The initiative comes on the heels of international demand, with the FPO already securing orders for beetroot jaggery from Bhutan, Dubai and Germany for delivery in April. To support value addition, the FPO has established a dedicated manufacturing facility at Nawada village in the Nehtaur area.
Beetroot offers a sugar recovery rate of up to 15%, outperforming sugarcane’s maximum yield of 12%, according to FPO CEO Vijendra Kumar. With individual roots weighing between two and five kilogrammes, the crop yields an estimated 70 to 100 quintals per bigha. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Meerut | Silver Rate in Meerut | Bank Holidays in Meerut | Public Holidays in Meerut | Meerut AQI | Weather in Meerut | Petrol Price in Meerut | Diesel Price in Meerut | CNG Price in Meerut | LPG Price in Meerut Stay updated with the latest Meerut news.
“FPOs are being promoted to help farmers adopt alternative crops and secure better market access,” said chief development officer (CDO) Ranvijay Singh. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Beyond higher returns, beetroot can be grown as an intercrop with sugarcane or harvested in March to make way for maize and other seasonal crops, substantially boosting farmers’ annual incomes. In an agriculture-driven district traditionally dominated by sugarcane, wheat, paddy and fodder, the high-yield crop is emerging as a promising alternative. Download the TOI App.