GADAG: In the age of cold chains and massive steel granaries, farmers of North Karnataka still believe in their hagevu -- the traditional storehouse deep in the earth. The hagevu have been part of the villagers’ lives for centuries. In North Karnataka, farmers used to store grains in them for years.
During the 1950s, it was natural to have these stockyards in front of one's house or near the farm. As time passed and the region suffered losses due to drought and other reasons, many of the stockyards were closed and farmers opted for warehouses to keep their grains safe.
Today, 10-20 stockyards can be still seen in some villages of North Karnataka, but Timmapur in Gadag district has more than 450 stockyards, of which at least 300 are in use even today. The traditional storerooms keep grains safe for the villagers for years together.
Timmapur village is 26km from Gadag town, and is a sprawl of 1,500 houses with a population of around 5,000 people. It lies in the black soil belt, suitable to grow jowar, wheat and pulses. The hagevu is dug 8-10 feet deep in the earth, and can store 30 to 40 gunny bags of grains. Farmers store their grains here for a year or two. These stockyards work on scientific principles: they are airtight, and the lack of oxygen means that the grains are worm-free, and there is no need to spray any chemicals to keep the harvest safe. The villagers say that their hagevu is now an attraction of sorts, and people from other districts visit Timmapur to see the stockyards and also glean information on how to dig them and store the grains.
They are now thinking of building a wall in front of a place called Ganva Tana, and clean it up to showcase the traditional stockyard system of North Karnataka to visitors. Said one farmer, “When we get a good harvest, the price drops, so we store the crops in the stockyard and wait for the right time to sell them. If a farmer has to get a daughter or son married and needs money, he sells his grains. We are blessed to have such a facility and should thank our ancestors and fathers for following this tradition of many centuries. Many villages in our region have no stockyards and farmers suffer losses for they have to sell off crops as they could get worm-infested or start spoiling, and also have to pay rent for cold storage facilities in warehouses.”
Yallappa Babari, a young farmer, said, “We can say that Timmapur is the only village with so many stockyards. The State government should come forward to save them and encourage others to follow this traditional method as it is useful and saves money. Many jowar, wheat and other grain growers wait and sell their harvest for the right price." Farmers of Timmapur say they have been following this traditional system which can be used across regions. If all farmers use this method, they can save money and sell their crops at the right time, they say.
How is grain stored?
These stockyards are closed for years. When farmers want to open them and take out the grains, they first open the stockyard and leave it for some time for air to fill the hagevu. Then they leave a lit open lamp called a khandeelu, to check for oxygen. If the deepa survives, it means the oxygen is sufficient, or they wait for some more time and check again.
Warehouse comparison
These stockyards are better than modern warehouses which charge daily rent for cold storage and other new techniques. But these traditional stockyards are free, and the grains are safe for years.
Mutual support
Farmers usually ask the government for price support, but in Timmapur, there is mutual support. It means farmers who have no stockyards keep their grains in other farmers’ stockyards for free, as there is a great deal of unity.
Rain seepage, rise in water level a surprise
Of late, there have been some strange changes. In October 2020, when the district came under heavy rainfall, farmers of Timmapur were shocked to see water content in nearly 70 stockyards -- a first here. Some of them lost grains too. The underground water level had also risen. “Some farmers suffered losses as there was water content. We don’t know how it happened and what is the reason.