Govt desperate to improve betel leaf production

25 May 2012

biswabrata goswami
CONTAI, 18 MAY: High demand for Bengal betel leaves in other states and in foreign countries seems to have prompted the state government to take a holistic approach towards improving production.
The state has failed to meet growing demand for specially bleached leaves in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and America, as well as states including Assam, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu.
Now it is all set to open a Rs 15 lakh betel market in Ramnagar. All trade-related facilities will be available at the market, through which the betel farmers will be able to send their produce abroad without any hassles.
According to horticulture officials, the cumulative deficit in the trade balance for March to June 2011 was Rs 1.8 crore, compared to Rs 1.05 crore for the corresponding period in 2010.
Betel leaf exports were grossly affected for the last few years owing to floods and natural calamities that devastated vast areas of East Midnapore and West Midnapore districts, the largest betel leaf-producing districts in the state. This year, destruction of betel leaf plantations because of a lack of rain in the summer has led to a loss of Rs 10 lakh a day in Contai and Tamluk alone.
Betel leaf grown in West Bengal is in tremendous demand at home and abroad because of its quality and flavour. But since there is no betel leaf research institute in the state, farmers have no place to go for advice on how to increase yields and improve quality, said Mr Rabindranath Maity, a betel leaf grower in Pataspur.
Quite frequently, he said, betel leaf production in East Midnapore faces setbacks because of diseases. So farmers are always worried about recouping their investments. Even after washing the betel leaf stems with pesticides and chemicals as recommended by the horticulture department, the shoots emerging from the transplanted stem are not healthy and many of them are attacked by viruses, Mr Maity said.
"There is a huge scope for the farmers to treat betel leaf as a commercial crop here," said a horticulture official. "So we have planned to set up two state-owned betel plantations at Kajlagarh in Contai sub-division. We will grow high-quality betel saplings, which will be supplied to the farmers." 
Through the National Horticulture Mission, financial assistance will be provided for various activities such as the production of quality planting material, protected cultivation, integrated pest and nutrient management, post-harvest management and establishment of marketing infrastructure.
Betel leaf cultivation is also being promoted under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, said Mr Ujjal Biswas, minister for horticulture and food processing.