Guntur betel leaf farmers beat the blues

The last year's cyclones, which devastated betel leaf gardens throughout Andhra Pradesh and deprived farmers of their annual income, however, seem to have spared about 1,500 farmers of the Ponnur area in Guntur district.

While their counterparts suffered deadly blow due to cyclones, these farmers are now earning an unprecedented profit of Rs 2-2.5 lakh per acre of betel leaf garden. They raised betel leaf crop in about 1,500-2,000 acres at Ponnur, Chundur, Ravindrapadu, Tippakatta, Donepudi, Potarlanka, and Chintalapudi.

As against the last year's price of Rs 100-200 per 100 bundles (each bundle has 120-140 leaves), they are now getting upward of Rs 2,500 per 100 bundles and better quality betel leaf fetching even more lucrative price. Their earnings could wipe out the huge losses they have piled up for the last three years and leave them a good surplus.

The last year cyclones and heavy rains destroyed betel gardens in Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Prakasam and Nellore districts.

K Mohan Rao, a farmer, told Business Standard, "It is like a dream come true for us. When in June last year, we planted common fax plants around which betel creepers entwine and grow, we had been in heavy deficit. As we could not do any other work or business, we transplanted betel pieces in August. The gardens luckily survived cyclones and the post-cyclone pest menace and started yielding good results from December. Betel leaves are harvested two times in a month till May during the season. A betel creeper yields leaves for two years. On an average, each cutting yields 1,000 bundles of betel per acre. As farmers of other districts lost heavily, we are getting heavy profits."

"Andhra Pradesh betel leaf is called 'Kapoori' variety, which is superior in quality and taste to rival Calcutta leaf (pungent). The latter is used in 'kaara' and 'jarda' (only one leaf is used) killy. Most people go for general killy, which is made up of 5 AP betel leaves," he said.

A Krishna Reddy, trader-cum-exporter, said, "During peak season, about 50 traders in Ponnur area send seven lorries, each laden with 800 betel baskets (each basket with 2,000 leaves), to other states every day."

Traders like Krishna Reddy have, so far, made on an average, Rs 400 margin per betel basket this season as against the normal Rs 100.

He said, "About 75 per cent of Andhra betel leaf is exported to Maharashtra and the remaining to Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other northern states."