Post News Network
Daringbadi, Dec 4: Kandhamal district, which not very long ago was known in the country and abroad for its good quality organic ginger, is fast losing its aroma as growers are turning for greener pastures.
Earlier, ginger was cultivated in about 500 acres of land in 24 panchayats. However, it has now come down to 50 acres only—a 90 per cent fall.
Though the exact reason for lack of interest among farmers to farm ginger was not known, this may largely be attributed to absence of government patronage, training and awareness about the correct method of farming, a report said.
Besides, the farmers are hit by pest attack on ginger crop. The crops get damaged in the period between last week of August and first week of September, ginger farmer Raghunath Mutha Majhi of Dasingbadi village said. The plants perish due to collection of water at the root, he said.
The farmers show minimum or no interest to raise the crops these days due to this disease, KASAM’s
(Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing) supervisor for Daringbadi Mahendra Kumar Khatei said.
According to him, four years back OUAT authorities provided training to farmers ahead of the starting of the farming season through NAIP (National Agriculture Innovative Programme). However, most of the farmers left the farming as they found the method difficult to follow. The farmers, who took up cultivation in hilly regions, still continue to reap good harvest, Khatei informed.
At present, farmers of Bujuli of Gadapur panchayat, Mandipanka of Brahmanigaon, Sikarmaha of Tajungia, Dasingbadi, Saramuli and Danekbadi panchayats have raised ginger in this block. They have so far sold about 100 quintals of ginger in the market, KASAM sources said.
A study reveals that 600 kg of ginger seeds are required to cover a patch of an acre of land. A farmer has to spend nearly Rs30, 000 towards the cost of seeds only. Besides, he has to bear additional expenses including cow dung composts, pesticide, neem composts and other allied expenditures to get a harvest about 19 quintals of ginger per acre. Significantly, a farmer cannot afford to hold back a part of his produce to utilise it as seeds for the next year due to his financial problems. So, he has to buy seeds at exorbitantly high rates from the market for his next year’s cultivation. Often, the farmers fail to procure seeds at high prices and decide not to take up the cultivation.
The farmers can have bumper harvest if they process the seeds before going for the cultivation, horticulture deputy director Sushant Kumar Subudhi said.
With proper training and assistance by the department, many farmers can be persuaded to resume ginger farming, experts said.