A recent assessment in select gram panchayats in the Antharasanthe area of H D Kote taluk in Mysore district has revealed that the younger generation among the farming community is ignorant of millets, which was the mainstay of the local farmers some two to three decades ago. And, nor are they now familiar with their nutritional value.
Today, most farmers have become buyers of even ragi which was their main food from among the millet group from the open market. They earlier cultivated this millet crop on their lands to meet their requirements and also saved it for drought conditions too.
The field study, done across 10 villages in Antharasanthe panchayat last January shows over the last 10-20 years the farmers have changed food and farming habits from one that was diverse and nutritional to one that is “harmful” to their health and environment.
Most farmers in the area, which borders Kerala, have leased out their lands to rich farmers from Kerala, for rates ranging from Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 per acre, for cultivation of ginger, turmeric and cash crops like sugarcane and tobacco as the cost of cultivation is high. Some have left their lands barren. They have become farm labourers, altogether giving up cultivation.
They have also given up poultry, sheep rearing and rearing of cows, and have become market-dependent. In case of tribals, there is regular migration to the coffee and tea plantations of Kodagu and Wayanad.
Earlier, 65 per cent of the cultivable area was under millet cultivation. Today ragi is the only millet in this region. Consequently, the area under millet cultivation is down to 20 per cent.
This sad picture has come to light in a detailed assessment of the millet crops and farming system in this area carried out by Bangalore-based NGO Pipal Tree and Global Rural Adaptation Initiatives Network, with the support of the Millet Network of India.
Cultivation of crops like ginger, turmeric and sugarcane, which is water-intensive, has resulted in excessive exploitation of groundwater through borewells, and also use of chemicals and pesticides, in turn ruining soil fertility and water table, affecting cultivation of the next crop, Pipal Tree Programme Coordinator Shabin Paul said.
She told Business Standard, the Public Distribution System under which farmers get 28 kg rice had also affected the farming activity. “As they get rice almost free of cost, the farmers have lost interest in cultivation of food crops like millets and taken to cultivation of cash crops or lease out their lands.”
Explaining the agircultural scenario in the area, Pipal Tree Coordinator H L Govindappa said, “The younger generation of farmers is not at all aware of millets like foxtail (navane). Elders in the families have stopped using them, though they state that these millets give them better nourishment and strength than rice and wheat and their high calcium content help infants and children develop healthy bones and teeth.”
“The poorer farmers are dependent on the inorganic polished rice, wheat and processed sugar of the PDS. The money they get by leasing out their lands is wasted and consumption of liquor has spread extensively. All these have made impact on their health too, apart from lands becoming barren without fertility and water availability.”
