S.M. Minajagi helplessly looks at the betel leaves turning from green to brown on his 10-acre plot. He has incurred a loss of over ₹2 lakh a month from his farm, located at Kudgi village in the district, and has no idea when his misery will end.
All betel leaf growers are facing a peculiar problem during the lockdown. They are unable to sell their produce even though their produce falls under the category of horticultural crop. “The government has announced that there is no restriction on the transportation of agricultural and horticultural crop. But since betel leaves are not considered essential commodities, we neither have buyers nor consumers,” he said. Kudgi is known for cultivating betel leaves supplied to many major cities in South India and Maharashtra.
Noor Ahmed Dafedar, another grower, said the lockdown has hit hundreds of labourers involved in packing and transportation, earning around ₹500 a day, which is high among agricultural labourers.
“Most of the leaves are directly consumed by people as they buy them from paan shops. Some of it also used at weddings and festivals. Now, as paan shops are closed and public functions are banned, our primary source of revenue has collapsed,” Mr. Dafedar said. Some philanthropists are purchasing fruits from farmers and directly giving them to consumers, but betel leaf growers cannot hope for any such help either.
Santosh Inamdar, Deputy Director of Horticulture, admitted that betel leaf growers were in a peculiar situation. “The leaves cannot be kept in cold storage for days as they are not fit for that. Since it is not an essential commodity, it cannot be sold directly. Therefore, nothing much can be done except to wait for the lockdown to end,” he said.
