Economic activity of Suchetgarh

Constant stretches of green farms. Gentle current of breeze swirling the standing rice crop on these farms awakening them from their intermittent nap. Chewing the cud, cows and buffaloes sluggishly ruminate. With scenes of kids playing in the mud, Suchetgarh, a small border village in R.S. Pura accords a warm welcome. The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture and dairy farming.

This area is part of what is known as the ‘Basmati bowl’ of the state. Basmati and Sharbati are the two varieties of the kharif crop that are cultivated here. Basmati has a better quality but due to the losses incurred, the farmers shifted to cultivation of Sharbati which involves less investment. The produce is generally sold out to the middlemen. Presently, the pre-decided price for Basmati is Rs.4000-4500 per quintal. Organic farming was initiated with the help of government authorities lately which are sold at the rate of Rs.28000-30000 per quintal. The dried leftover called ‘bhusa’ is also put on sale which is bought by the ‘Gujjar community’. In addition to rice, major crops like mustard , barseem and vegetables are also  grown.

Since rice is a seasonal crop, the villagers also practice dairy farming. Milk is sold to the brokers twice a day on a daily basis at the rate of Rs. 20-25 per kg. Some families in addition to milk, sell other milk products like paneer too. Besides agriculture, many educated youth have adopted teaching as a side business . According to ‘lambaddaar’ Haveli Ram, around 85 people of the village are employed with the defence forces.

People in this area face a lot of problems when there are tensions across the border. Due to firing, both agriculture as well as dairy farming is affected. According to the villagers, no compensation is provided by the government in case of loss of property.