Bissam cuttack: The bumper harvest of pineapple in the Niyamgiri hill in Rayagada district is no longer a cause of joy for the Dongria Kondhs. With lockdown and shutdown restrictions in place and no cold storage facility or food processing unit nearby, they are ending up getting the crumbs, while the traders and middlemen from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh are laughing all the way to the banks.
There are 65 villages with a population of over 6,000 under Bissamcuttack block in Rayagada district. Of them, over 700 families earn their livelihood by selling vegetables and minor forest produces. Most of the inhabitants are Dongria Kondhs living in 23 villages of Kurli panchayat, Kinjamjodi village of Chanchadaguda panchayat, some villages of Daliakuji panchayat in Bissamcuttack block and some villages of Munikhole panchayat in Muniguda block.
During this time of the year, huge quantities of pineapples are harvested here. Since the climate here is conducive for farming pineapples, on an average around 28,00,000 pieces of pineapple are harvested from 2,000 acres of land.
Besides pineapples, they also cultivate and sell turmeric, ginger, arrowroot, plantain, jackfruit and tamarind. In addition, they also manufacture brooms from forest grass.
According to information shared by Dongria Kondh Development Agency (DKDA) at Chatikana, over 300 MTs of mangoes, over 200 MTs of oranges and over 28,00,000 pineapples are harvested in Niyamgiri areas every year.
Generally, traders from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujurat, Delhi and different parts of Odisha purchase these produces from the Dongria Kondhs.
This season, the Dongria Kondhs were hopeful of a good earning. However, the second wave of Covid-19 has dashed their hopes to the ground. Owing to the restrictions, neither are the regular traders from outside the state able to come to the area to buy their produces nor are they able to sell them in the local markets.
Meanwhile, the traders from Andhra Pradesh are cashing in on the situation. They are procuring the pineapples and other produces at throwaway prices and selling those in their state, earning huge profits in the process.
The Dongria Kondhs said they are forced to sell their produces at the price offered by the traders from Andhra to earn at least something than nothing because the shelf-life of pineapples is just one week and there is no cold storage facility in the region.
When contacted, deputy head, Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS), Manoj Kumar Patra said some traders from Delhi recently visited the area and examined the quality of the pineapples grown by the Dongria Kondhs. “At present, pineapple is sold for Rs 25 a piece here. The traders have asked for Rs 18 a piece. Efforts are on to send the pineapples to Delhi after the price of the fruit drops here.”
Notably, SC and ST Development Minister Jagannath Saraka, during his recent visit to Bissamcuttack, held a discussion with Dongria Kondhs to take stock of the problems faced by them.