BIJAPUR: Bijapur, capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty, is famous for historical monuments like Ibrahim Rouza and Bara Kaman among a host of others, as much as it is for the high-quality grapes and pomegranates cultivated here in the present day.That the city is on the must-visit list of tourists in this part of the globe and high demand for the fruits stand testimony to these claims.
The heritage city, officially Vijayapura now, apart from being home to a number of tombs like Golgumbaz, had its farmers growing grapes since the 18th century under the patronage of the Nizams of Hyderabad. They went on to add pomegranate as a main cash crop from the early 1980s for the rich dividends the popular fruit brought them.
While for the consumer grapes may be either sweet or sour, the fruit has turned bitter for their growers, after they seized to be the “apples” they once were. Long dry spells, unseasonal rains and hailstorms coupled with blight, a bacterial disease, have in turns made tending to grapes a nightmarish experience for farmers. The farmers have managed to keep their home fires burning thanks to the lucrative pomegranate, which again had its share of blight attack last year.
The resultant drop in yield as also frequent crashes in prices of the two main fruits cultivated in the district have forced farmers here to look up to the government for support. “A study has revealed that farmers in the district have been badly affected because of poor seasons of their mainstay crops in eight of the last 12 years, which has resulted in a number of them landing into serious debts,” a grape grower told Express.
They are thus pushing forward their demands as poll issues ahead of the state assembly elections slated to be held on May 12. “It is only if the government takes up our pleas that we can sustain our profession and livelihood,” Prakash Anthargonda said.
The pomegranate farmer from Maliyala cross, near the Krishna river, goes on to reveal that he may have to stop growing the fruit in the three acres of land he presently does.He recalls that the area had bumper crops of the fruit during the late ‘90s before widespread disease and expressive crop management took a toll, resulting in “huge losses” to the farming community.“Wholesale merchants and retailers, on the other hand, are making profits as they have cold storage and other such facilities to sell during off-season at commanding prices,” he added.
Bijapur fruit farmers want the government to set up free cold storage units to stock grapes and pomegranates when there is a glut, so as to be able to sell the perishables at better prices when the yield drops.Speaking on behalf of the community, the president of National Grape Growers Abaykumar Nagarker demands that the Union government bring changes in National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms and consider a panchayat as a block to help the farmers get relief.He said they had written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to waive off their loans, but “didn’t get any response”.
“As for the state government, it pays us `12,000 per hectare for crop loss, while Maharashtra farmers were paid `27,000 during 2015. We want Government of Karnataka to pay farmers `40,000 per damaged hectare, and also pay up for losses incurred last year, which runs up to `50 crore. Relief to be paid to pomegranate farmers is much higher at `360 crore,” he added.He fears the lack of political will in the state may push Bijapur farmers, who grow 55 per cent of the state’s grapes production, further into the debt trap.
He also says the government should simplify the process to claim relief, and elected representatives should help in this, which “presently gives scope for officials to make us run around for the money”.
“Our legislators would have understood the plight of grape growers better had they been into its cultivation, but most of them are into the sugar industry, which is more lucrative,” he added.