Kendrapara: The state government’s ban on use of plastic bags has opened up opportunities for the manufacturers of jute and cotton bags but a fall in jute production in the district has left farmers disappointed, a report said.
Farmers claimed that the district has a favourable climatic condition for jute cultivation but lack of government support has dashed their hopes. Jute was cultivated over 2,152 hectares of land in 2005. Later, over 8,000 hectares were brought under the crop due to a favourable climatic condition and good quality soil.
The state government, sensing the opportunity the district holds for fibre cultivation, established a jute research centre at Jajanga on the outskirts of this town. Its establishment came as a boon for the farmers and led to spread in jute cultivation to over 14,000 hectares in 2014.
However, lack of sponsorship on the part of the government disappointed them. To drive home the point, the farmers claimed that the government godown distributed only two quintals of seeds to farmers in 2018 when there was a requirement for 28 quintals of seeds. Left with no option, the farmers purchased the rest of the seeds from the open market but the seeds being of substandard quality were of no use, the farmers lamented.
Farmers said agriculture is the only source of livelihood for the residents as the district doesn’t have any major industries or mines. As such, cultivation of paddy, jute and ‘mesta’ are the only form of livelihood for the residents. The farmers were able to earn good money by cultivating the crops.
Farmer Niranjan Parida, who has cultivated jute over 12 acres, said the soil quality and climatic condition in Kendrapara are favourable for jute farming.
“The farmers earned good money by cultivating and selling the crop, its leaves and sticks during Deepawali. However, due to incompetence of the agriculture department the farmers are not able to get good quality seeds for cultivation while the seeds available in the open market are of substandard quality,” Parida said.
He said there is a jute-based cottage industry at Paripangara in the district which is managed by over 60 self-help group members. There is a need for more jute cultivation in the district for the crop to be available at fair price, he added.
However, due to sharp fall in its cultivation, the SHG members were forced to purchase the fibre from outside to keep the unit running. The purchase of the fibre from outside will have an adverse impact on products manufactured by the unit and would lead to their price rise. As a result, the cottage industry will find it hard to compete with outside industries, Parida said.
PNN
