Udupi: Rain, a friend of farmers now becomes the enemy

By Snehalatha, Udupi
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 20 August 2011: This is the sad story of rain the good friend of the farmers causing trouble like a enemy. The rain which is pouring continuously since the last one month has been destroying coconut, beetle nut, black pepper and other such crops in Innanje, Bantakal, Shirva, Sooda, Mudarangadi and the surrounding areas. The hard work of the whole year of farmers has washed away. In hundreds of acres of land in the coconut, beetle nut and black pepper farms, the rain related decease has effected and from this the farmers have lost lakhs of rupees worth crops.

 

 
 
Since the last few years there was not much market price for beetle nut and black pepper and this had made the farmers pauper. Now there is good rate in the market, but there is no crop, so these farmers have become more pauper. In Innanje young farmer Jaya Poojary has been growing black pepper since the last 5 – 6 years. Last year he had good yield. But the market rate was not even Rs. 100 per kg.
 
This time the black pepper has become victim to the decease even before the crop is ready. With this disease the root of the bines has rotten and the whole bines are dying. Currently the market rate for black pepper is Rs. 180 – 200. But what to do when there is no crop, says helpless struggling Jaya Poojary, standing in the midst of the dead bines. The same situation is of all the other farmers there.
 
In Bantakal another progressing farmer Babanna Prabu has another problem. The beetle nuts which are suppose to be dazzling with full bunch are now empty. The beetle nuts which were to ripe on the trees have all dropped down to ground and spread all over the farm. That too, these are not the raw ones, these beetle nuts were almost ripe and were to be fully ripe in another one or two weeks. In last year the market rate of beetle nut was Rs. 80 – 90 per kg. Now the rate has crossed Rs. 180, but the beetle nut farmer is not happy, because the decease spread in acres of beetle nut farm and it is not letting the farmer to be happy.
 
In Sooda, Mudarangadi and surrounding areas, the tender coconuts have become victims to another decease by which the tender coconuts break open by itself and drop down. Here in tens of farms the tender coconuts can be seen in heaps which are dropped down. The coconut plantation which is second only to paddy crops in agricultural economy, has betrayed the farmers this time.
 
The officers of the Agricultural department say that they have not received any written complaint so far. These diseases to black pepper, beetle nut and coconut trees effect only in rainy season. If the rain is heavy then this disease gets extreme. There is medicine available for this. But once the medicine is sprayed, then a good sunlight is required to dry, says an progressive farmer Bantakal Ramakrishna Sharma. But this time the rain does not allow to spray this medicine. Overall the farmers have become pauper this time.