This 70-YO Farmer From Bengal Created a Papaya Variety That Yields 75000 Kg a Year

49 years on, and this farmer, who is a school dropout in Kolkata, has only cultivated heat, chilli, cauliflower, onion, mango, and a native papaya variety on the small fertile land left behind by his late father.

As his farming evolved, he discovered that the native variety of papaya was vulnerable to disease and offered poor yield. It kept bothering him as a farmer. A few months later, he emerged with a proposal to perform an experiment using two species of papaya. 

Using a trial-and-error method, he cross-pollinated the flowers of the hybrid papaya variety known as Red Lady 786, which produces fruit profusely, with the flowers of the native papaya.

Today, he harvests an impressive 75 metric tonnes of papaya annually. His new papaya variety places him among the top papaya growers in the Chinsurah-Mogra Block of West Bengal. 

This yet-to-be-named papaya variety is the result of years of cross-pollination. Meet the farmer behind the innovation – Krishna Chandra Halder.

A new variety, a new identity

With 1,875 papaya plants, Halder now produces 75,000 kilograms of fruit annually across his 3.5 bighas of agricultural land in Uttar Simlapal village, Hooghly district. His papaya is similar in appearance to existing varieties but stands out for its elongated shape. Each fruit measures 15 to 20 centimetres in length and weighs between 500 and 750 grams.

Familiar as a table fruit, the papaya is sweet and aromatic, with orange-red pulp and black pepper-like seeds. Its garden-fresh quality and year-round availability have earned it strong demand in the Kolkata fruit market.

The farmer's experiment

When Halder began farming in 1976 for his livelihood, he had no idea that his cross-pollination experiments would eventually change his life. Today, he generates a revenue of Rs 22.5 lakh annually from papaya sales alone.

He admits that distinguishing the stigma of female flowers from the pollen of male florets was a difficult task initially. Later, he adopted the hand-pollination method since natural pollination was not effective. This method, involving the delicate brushing of each petal, consumed a lot of time.

"I experimented on several plants. Nothing worked for the first three to four years. One evening, I noticed flower buds and hoped they would turn into fruit. About seven to eight months later, I was overjoyed to see my efforts bear fruit. I haven’t named the variety yet. As long as it gives me a good yield, I’m happy," says the 70-year-old farmer.

Cross-pollination vs natural pollination: Expert insights

Dr Nitai Mudi, Senior Scientist at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agriculture Science Centre), explains, "Cross-pollination is a common practice. However, hybrid varieties often don’t produce viable seeds for future use. The best results often come from natural pollination."

A District Horticulture Officer, requesting anonymity due to protocol, adds, "The horticulture department doesn’t conduct fruit variety identification. That can only be done through gene testing or tissue culture at specialised labs like Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya in Kalyani. But most farmers avoid this due to high costs and are content with a good harvest."

A fruitful business

For nearly a decade, Halder focused on preserving this resilient breed. To scale up, he bought two more bighas of land and planted 1,200, 500, and 175 papaya plants in three separate fields. Since 1986, he’s been turning a steady profit.

Papaya, or Carica papaya, has several varieties in West Bengal including Ranchi Selection, Honeydew, Washington, and Coorg Green. However, most are vulnerable to disease and sensitive to soil and climate. Halder’s unnamed variety is disease-resistant and high-yielding. Each plant produces around 40 kilos of fruit per year.

He sells his papayas wholesale at Rs 150 per palla (a local measure equal to five kilos). During Ramadan, prices rise to Rs 450 per palla. Halder sells 20 palla, or 100 kilos, of papaya every day at Chandannagar wholesale market.

"Papayas weighing 500-750 grams are in demand due to smaller family sizes. Oversized fruits, even up to five to six kilos, don’t sell well. Those under 2.5 kg are preferred and fetch up to Rs 150 per kg," he explains.

Around 2,500 kilos of papaya are supplied daily to the Kolkata market from Hooghly district. Two trucks, each carrying 1,250 kilos, make the daily trip.

According to CEIC Data’s mid-2025 report, West Bengal produced 334.161 tonnes of papaya. India is the world’s largest papaya producer, accounting for 44 percent of the global output at 53 lakh tonnes a year.

Planting, care and cultivation

Papaya plants are fragile and need bamboo supports. Halder maintains a 6 to 8-foot gap between each plant and finds clay soil optimal. Male plants flower; females bear fruit. Plants usually survive for two years and are then replaced.

"I invest Rs 1 lakh per bigha for fresh cultivation. Although farmers get tax exemptions, we still have to pay land revenue," he says.

Halder nurtures each plant with mustard flakes, groundnut flakes, and urea. Pesticides like Merivon and Rogor keep insects at bay.

He credits Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV) for helping him with soil preparation, vermicompost, and organic fertilisers. "Dr D. K. Ghosh of BCKV invited me to their sessions. I learnt how to identify and treat sick plants, and that’s helped me immensely," he says.

Almost in the army, but chose the soil

In 1976, Halder was selected for the army and police but turned both down. "Farming gives me joy. Other jobs come with too many drawbacks," says Halder, the third of four brothers.

He attended Hooghly Jyotish Chandra Vidyapith but couldn’t appear for his 10th-grade exams due to his father’s sudden demise. "Our financial condition forced me to take up farming," he adds.

Over the years, Halder has received multiple awards for papaya cultivation and even won first prize for mango at an exhibition in Kochi, Kerala, in 2011.

Now, he trains other farmers in the region to grow this papaya variety. "The training will help them grow more and earn better," says Halder, with quiet pride.

All images courtesy Partho Burman