Golanthara: Farmers of Rangeilunda, Hinjilicut, Kukudakhandi and Chhatrapur block are finding it difficult to sustain the age-old betel leaf cultivation that long ago was the main source of their livelihood in Ganjam district. Notwithstanding a good crop, betel leaf farmers suffer due to lack of good marketing facilities.
A fall in production, a rise in overhead costs and a dwindling demand have pushed the farmers into a corner. Residents of Golanthara who once boasted of betel leaf cultivation are now opting to work as bonded labourers owing to crop loss caused by drastic climate changes.
Almost every family of this village carried out ‘pan’ farming for a living. It was an ancestral tradition dating back to 200 years ago, said sources, adding at least 40 per cent of farmers eked out their living from it and even made good profits.
However, things turned worse after the 1999 Super Cyclone. Farmers were badly hit by the natural disaster. The farmers had been so badly hit that most of them had left farming, sources said. Many are yet to receive compensations even though it is 17 years since the natural disaster had happened.
However, some farmers summoned courage and tried to resurrect betel cultivation. They borrowed loans from banks and private financers. However, to their bad luck again, the crop was destroyed by Phailin in 2013. This incident put paid to their enthusiasm. Many are yet to come to terms with the disaster.
“We are into betel farming for 40 years. Our grandparents used to do it,” says Surendra Pradhan, a farmer of Golanthara. My only source of living is betel cultivation, he added.
These leaves were properly packed and exported to places like Banaras, Delhi, Kolkata and other big cities. However, the export has declined in the last few years, Pradhan said.
Phailin turned everything upside down, he said, adding he has incurred heavy losses after being hit by the natural disaster.
Betel crop is a costly crop which is grown for about eight months after which the leaves are cut once a month. The land lease rates also go up ever year compounding the problems for farmers, Pradhan stated. The price of a bamboo is `15 while a labourer is paid `400 per day. In such hard times, the government does little to help us. It was difficult for him to run a five-member family.
Until a decade ago, betel fields extended across hectares of land. Now the crop is hardly cultivated in one third of the land.
Several years have gone waiting for government compensation, he reminiscenced.
Yet another reason for the steady decline in betel coverage is the fast spread of gutkha masala, Pradhan says. Modern lifestyle has forced choices on people who prefer gutkha to ‘pan’ leaves.
Every shop sells gutkha. Meanwhile, many erstwhile farmers have left their home and hearth to work as bonded labourers in other states.
Many farmers in the region have urged the government to help them revive their age-old calling, failing which it will soon be a thing of the past for the future generations.
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