Lucknow, Nov. 9 : Farmers in Lucknow have taken up papaya cultivation believing it to be a lucrative option over other crops.

“Every 3-4th day, we are dispatching seven to eight quintals of papaya while rest of the fruit will give dividends by November only. It is a lucrative option," said Ashish Mishra, a papaya farmer.

“The farmers who used to cultivate rice and wheat and make Rs. 20,000-30,000 (429- 645 U S Dollars) annually have now switched over to papaya cultivation. If they put in their best efforts they can easily make Rs. 400,000-500,000 (8,599- 10,751 U S Dollars) if they take up papaya cultivation," said Ajay Mishra, another farmer.

India produces around 2,300 tonnes of papaya annually.

Lucknow produces only two percent of its papaya consumption and rest of it is brought from other states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

In the past decade, the area under papaya cultivation in India has hugely increased following the introduction of Taiwanese and Hawaiian varieties. (ANI)