Indian sugar mills association

Champaran ready for a yellow revolution

Date:	30 Dec 2011

Source:	Indian Express

Reporter:	Santosh Singh

News ID:	808

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When Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar started his Sewa Yatra from Champaran last month, besides the historic Satyagraha symbolism, he also had the revival of sugarcane cultivation in mind. Sugarcane mills, once considered Champaran’s prominent landmarks, have mostly closed down. Though Nitish announced that many of these would be reopened with the help of private investors, sugarcane farmers, who often do not get good support price for their crop and tackle a long channel of middlemen from the fields to the markets, were hardly optimistic. In fact, they have already chosen an alternative: turmeric.

Several sugarcane farmers have started cultivating turmeric that requires much lower labour cost. Besides, there’s easy availability of markets to sell turmeric without involvement of middlemen, and it fetches Rs 2,500 per quinta

Abdul Hai Akhtar, a lawyer-farmer from Lalparsa village under Sikta, said that though the recent re-opening of over half-a-dozen sugar mills rekindled hopes of sugarcane cultivation, turmeric is a safer option for both medium and small farmers. “The best thing about turmeric is inter-cropping. Several farmers grow arhar or tuar pulses along with turmeric, which is sown in July and reaped in January-February,” he said. Akhtar added that turmeric is grown mostly on highlands as water-logging is unsuitable for the crop.

Bihar has never been known for turmeric cultivation, but during the last three years, thousands of farmers across Nautan, Sikta, Bairia, Chanpatia and Jogapatti have started turmeric farming. “Farmers can go for a second crop during the year after turmeric has been harvested. It could be any of the rabi crops,” said Akhtar.

In wetlands, turmeric is rotated with paddy, sugarcane and banana. In garden lands, it is grown in rotation with sugarcane, chilli, onion, garlic, vegetables, pulses, wheat, ragi and maize.

Analysing the shift from sugarcane to turmeric, A M Jha, a Betiah-based journalist and farmer, said, “Time was when Betiah and Motihari had become synonymous with sugarcane and kidnapping, with tall sugarcane crops providing a perfect hiding place for kidnappers. With improved law and order situation, things are changing. Also, turmeric cultivation involves minimum fuss. Though three years ago it fetched higher price, farmers are still content getting Rs 2,500 per quintal as price, as it involves low labour cost. With more and more workforce migrating to other states due to shrinking sugarcane industry, turmeric is a good option for Champaran farmers.

The state government, however, has not put in place any immediate incentive for turmeric cultivation, though it has drawn a big agricultural roadmap for five years to take care of comprehensive development in the sector that has recorded a mere five per cent growth rate.

Turmeric is mainly cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Orissa. It is cultivated in diverse tropical and sub-tropical conditions with temperatures varying from 20 to 30°C, and a rainfall of above 1,500 mm. It thrives in well-drained, fertile, sandy, clayey, black, alluvial loams, rich in humus and uniform in texture. Rich loamy soils having natural drainage and irrigation facilities are best for the crop, as it cannot stand alkalinity.

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