Commercial floriculture is emerging as a transformative livelihood tool for women in the rural pockets of Jammu and Kashmir, with Doda district emerging as a standout example of how organised agriculture can drive economic independence at the grassroots level.

In Sartingal village of Bhaderwah, Doda, women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) operating under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) are growing, harvesting, and adding value to a range of ornamental crops — converting barren land into productive agricultural plots and generating steady household incomes in the process.

How the Floriculture Mission Took Root

The initiative draws its momentum from the Ministry of Science and Technology's Floriculture Mission, implemented on the ground with technical support from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM). The mission provided participating women with quality planting material, agro-technology training, and sustained handholding to get the venture off the ground.

Cluster Coordinator Nadia Farooq, who leads one such SHG in Sartingal, said the initiative changed the trajectory of farming on land that had long sat idle. 'I'm thankful to Ministry of Science and Technology, who encouraged us to start marigold farming and provided us with the quality planting material besides giving us training to learn the latest practices in agro-technologies,' Farooq said.

About five women from the cluster initially joined the Floriculture Mission on a trial basis, cultivating marigold on a barren patch of land. The venture proved profitable, and the group has been supplying flowers to traders in Jammu for over one-and-a-half months, according to reports.

Eight Years of Marigold Farming — and Over ₹3 Lakh in Sales

One of the most visible success stories from the region is Rani, a local resident associated with the Umeed Scheme for the past eight years. Beginning with a modest entrepreneurial venture, she has cultivated marigold flowers for nearly a decade and has reportedly sold produce worth more than ₹3 lakh in the open market — generating a meaningful additional income stream for her family.

Rani credited the Floriculture Department for consistent support, including seed provision and awareness programmes that help farmers improve cultivation practices year on year.

Broader Impact on Women's Empowerment

The floriculture push has yielded outcomes beyond income generation. Women in the SHGs have developed entrepreneurial skills, secured leadership roles in local agricultural clusters, and built confidence in navigating supply chains — from cultivation through to commercial sales. This comes amid a wider national effort under NRLM to integrate rural women into productive economic activity through targeted livelihood missions.

Notably, the Doda model demonstrates how barren or underutilised land can be converted into economically viable plots through a combination of government support, scientific input from institutions like CSIR-IIIM, and community organisation via SHGs.

What Comes Next

With early results from the marigold cultivation experiment proving commercially viable, there is scope to scale the model to other villages in Bhaderwah and beyond. Continued support from the Floriculture Department in terms of seed supply, training, and market linkage will be critical to sustaining and expanding these gains for rural women across Jammu and Kashmir.