The house of a flower cultivator in Bunkulung. Picture by Suman Tamang

Bunkulung (Mirik) April 15: Young farmers from this sleepy hamlet, about 10 km from Mirik, have virtually given traditional farming a miss and are increasingly embracing floriculture as their source of sustenance, heralding a new revolution.

What is interesting is that farmers of Bunkulung, once considered one of the most backward areas of Mirik block and with no road connectivity or access to modern ideas, once cultivated traditional crops like maize, ginger and paddy.

?It all started with the DGHC building roads. Businessmen started coming over and we were encouraged to give up traditional farming for floriculture,? said Santa Man Subba, a 27-year-old farmer who did not think twice before switching from traditional agriculture to floriculture.

Most families here have built sheds to grow flowers like gerbera, lilium and carnation. ?We buy sapling at Rs 5, but a single gerbera cut- flower fetches us Rs 25 in Mirik and Kurseong markets. The price for lilium is around Rs 20,? said Subba.

Flowers are considered more profitable than traditional crops. ?This year, the price for 40 kg of ginger (it takes a year to grow) was around Rs 1,400 while a kg of broomstick fetched Rs 10. For these crops, we have to work harder and the land-use is also more. Floriculture, on the other hand, ensures more profit from a small plot,? said Bibi Maya, a farmer.

Floriculture also needs intensive care, and according to botanists, the cut-flower has to be transported within 24 hours.

According to Rabi Rai of Integrated Horticulture Development in the Hills, this nondescript village of 600-odd residents has great potential. ?Bunkulung gives us around 500 cut-flowers per month and we can sell the same number in a single day,? said Rai.

He is trying to work out a tie-up with an Australian firm for better marketing of Bunkulung flowers.

The DGHC is also doing its bit. It is trying to build roads between Kurseong and Mirik through this hamlet so farmers can access local markets more.