News » 25.04.2025 - How an Indian grower quietly turned a small village into a major player in floriculture

 

Thally, a quiet village nestled near Hosur in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district, looks like the kind of place where time moves slowly. But drive a little further, and you'll come across a very different scene – acres of precision-farmed flowers, climate-controlled greenhouses, and farmers tapping into global markets. At the center of it all is a new kind of rural development strategy, one that blends high-tech agriculture with hands-on governance.

At the heart of this floral transformation is IAS officer K M Sarayu, the District Magistrate of Krishnagiri, whose approach has turned a traditional agrarian belt into one of India's rising hubs for high-value floriculture.

The Centre for Cut Flowers, located just outside Thally, doesn't look like your usual farm. Inside, it's all sensors, drip lines, and neatly ordered rows of roses, gerberas, and orchids. Real-time data controls water and nutrient delivery. Greenhouses adjust humidity and temperature automatically. Post-harvest rooms are chilled to preserve freshness. It's farming with the precision of a lab.

Farmers are learning fast. "Earlier, we only knew open farming. Now we talk about micronutrients and humidity levels," says a local grower who now ships gerberas to Bengaluru and Delhi. Training sessions held at the centre walk cultivators through everything from greenhouse setup to market strategy. "We weren't sure at first," he adds, "but once we saw the rose yield, we were convinced."

Source: www.floraldaily.com
 

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