Agarapada: There was a time when people in Agarpada area of Bhadrak district used to cultivate jute, locally called Nalita, on a large-scale. They used to get good earnings from their cultivation.
Sadly, this cultivation is now tottering on the verge of vanishing from the area for various factors. Many farmers have already left the cultivation while others are not keen to take it up because there is a lack of marketing facilities now in the face of stiff competition from plastic products.
Earlier, a variety of products made of jute such as colourful ropes, slings, tethering ropes for livestock had huge demand in the market. Farmers would also get good earnings from selling jute to traders. They lamented that nobody is taking jute now while the local market is now flooded with plastic products.
Despite marketing odds, some farmers, however, are sticking to this cultivation in Tumbapadi, Gandakura, Gopalpur and Suanpada villages under Bant block.
“Nallita seeds are sown in May and is harvested in August,” they added.
Farmers purchase Nalita seeds from the agriculture office for Rs 200 per kg while two kg of seeds are required for one acre of land.
They said segregating jute from its plants is a cumbersome process and they fail to get the right price in commensuration with the amount of labour they invest.
“Nalita plants are cut and then bound in bundles. The bundles are soaked in ponds or pits after Nalita plants wilt and shed their leaves. After 15 to 20 days of soaking in water, plants get rotting and then plants are beaten with blunt objects to segregate jute fibre. Thereafter, jute is dried in the sun,” they added.
Ekadasi Parida, a farmer of Tumbapadi, said the wide use of plastic products had led to a slow death of jute cultivation in their areas.
Sushant Kumar Jena, another farmer, pointed out that they do not get the right price for jute in accordance with the amount of labour they invest.
Besides, the government has no provision for jute procurement from farmers. As a result, the farmers have to face a lot of difficulty in selling their products.
Last year, the farmers had to sell jute for Rs 30 a kg, said the assistant agriculture officer. He also observed that the plastic products available in the market are comparatively cheaper than jute products.
All these factors are responsible for the decline of jute cultivation in the area, he added. PNN
