For Vesalu Puro, farming was something she grew up with. It was also something she returned to after seven years as a contractual employee of the Nagaland government. Today, the flowers she once grew as a hobby have become a commercial enterprise spread across 1.5 hectares in Phek district. Born into a farming family in Phek, which shares a border with Myanmar, Vesalu grew up in the land of the Chakhesang Naga tribe, known for its natural bounty and organic vegetables. After completing her post-graduation in social work from Pune, she joined the Land Resources Department in 2013 as a trainer, travelling to villages and training women, self-help groups and farmers in livelihood generation. The job gradually drew her back to farming. In 2021, she began growing flowers on a small scale at Pfutsero after noticing the demand for flowers for weddings, churches, festivals and other social functions. But quality planting material was difficult to find, and technical knowledge about commercial floriculture was limited.
“I started floriculture as a hobby but realised its commercial potential soon after. My parents have been in love with flowers, using them in decorating our home. Initially, I grew succulents that belong to the cactus family and slowly, started collecting seeds of various flowers,” she says. Vesalu’s parents had worked in the fields all their lives. After losing both within a year of each other, she continued with the family’s tea garden and fruit orchard. It was while looking for another avenue in farming that she began exploring cut flowers.
Starting a flower farm, however, was not easy
“Finding suitable varieties, sourcing quality seeds and bulbs, understanding local climate, and learning the right time for sowing, planting and harvesting were some of my initial challenges,” she says. The cool climate of Pfutsero suits many flowers, but heavy rainfall, frost and changing weather can damage crops. Marketing and transporting fresh flowers, particularly outside the district, brought another set of difficulties. Help came from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NEIST), based in Jorhat, Assam. The institute helped her construct a polyhouse and provided technical training. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Phek, also supported her.
The ICAR-KVK, Phek introduced Vesalu to Arka Amar, a high-yielding gladiolus variety developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru. She received 6,000 healthy corms and practical training in scientific cultivation, nutrient and water management, pest and disease control, harvesting, post-harvest handling and corm storage. KVK scientists continued to provide field guidance. The results came quickly. On 0.25 acre planted with the 6,000 corms, Vesalu harvested about 5,400 marketable flower spikes. At an average price of Rs15 a spike, she earned a gross income of Rs 81,000. Her net income was Rs 52,070, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.80:1.
The success encouraged her to expand and diversify. She began growing premium cut flowers including hydrangea, peony, delphinium, stock, eucalyptus and other seasonal varieties. Her flowers are sold across Nagaland and supplied to cities including New Delhi and Mumbai. She also buys flowers from local growers, giving them another source of income. The polyhouse, established in 2022 under the CSIR Floriculture Mission, became another turning point. It allowed Vesalu to experiment with protected cultivation and try new varieties.
