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Gonda Farmer Earns Millions with Okra-Cowpea Intercropping, Reduces Costs
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News18•21-09-2026, 13:00
Gonda Farmer Earns Millions with Okra-Cowpea Intercropping, Reduces Costs
- •Progressive farmer Ashok Kumar Maurya from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, is cultivating okra and cowpea in two and a half bigha using intercropping.
- •He built a permanent trellis with iron pillars and strong ropes, eliminating the annual cost and effort of building new trellises.
- •Maurya is growing Syngenta's Radhika okra and Ankur company's Celebrity Hybrid cowpea varieties.
- •Harvesting both crops at different times ensures regular sales opportunities in the market.
- •With an investment of 8-10 thousand rupees, he expects to earn millions, demonstrating how intercropping can reduce costs and increase income.
Key Questions Answered
Progressive farmer Ashok Kumar Maurya is cultivating Syngenta's Radhika variety of okra and Ankur company's Celebrity Hybrid cowpea across about two and a half bigha of land in Gonda district.
The total cost for cultivating both okra and cowpea is approximately 8 to 10 thousand rupees. With favorable market prices, this two-and-a-half-bigha field has the potential to generate an income reaching millions of rupees.
Instead of building traditional bamboo and pole trellises that required annual effort and expense, Ashok Kumar Maurya constructed a permanent trellis using iron pillars and strong ropes. This durable setup can be utilized for vine crops over multiple years, successfully eliminating yearly reconstruction costs.
