MALKANGIRI: It's hard to kick the habit. Kicking one that gives a real high of easy money in a landscape that remained bereft of development for decades is even harder, but in far-flung villages of Swabhiman Anchal, local tribals are making that effort.
A region where hemp cultivation proliferated away from the gaze of enforcement agencies for decades, natives are now willing to shift and give cash crops a chance for livelihood. Ginger cultivation has been making its presence felt, slowly but steadily. Millets like ragi too are now finding takers among tribal farmers.
In Dhuliput panchayat's Dunktar village, Rama Hantal is into both turmeric and ragi and happy to give both crops a longer try. Ever since Gurupriya Bridge built connect with the mainstream and governance began to reach out, tribal farmers are inclined to take up these crops. The process has been slow but is working.
According to statistics from Agriculture department, organic turmeric cultivation in Swabhiman Anchal now stands at 981 acre with over 1,182 farmers taking up the crop.
Most of this has been achieved in last couple of years. One acre yields about approximately 20 quintal raw and five quintal dry turmeric. Villagers say, a kg of dry turmeric sells for about Rs 30-40. The buyers are mostly from AP and Odisha who visit the villages after the harvest.
The region once was notorious for ganja. With Maoists holding control and security forces struggling for access, cannabis business was flourishing.
Investors from AP, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack would strike deals with farmers to grow ganja on their fields and provide seeds, fertilisers and about Rs 15,000 per acre as upfront payment, locals say. Every acre could grow 4,000-5,000 hemp plants which fetched about Rs 2-3 lakh a season.
"We sell ganja at about Rs 500-700 per kg but most of the time, traders cheat us by not paying the full amount. Police and excise officials from both the states are in the know of things but would look the other way," says a villager.
Compared to this, turmeric gives a return of Rs 15,000-20,000 per acre. Naturally, hemp remains lucrative. "The land here is not suitable for paddy which forced many to go in for ganja cultivation. The return is also higher. This is the crop we’ve been growing for last 20 years," said a villager of Papermetla.
However, with State Police and Excise making increasing inroads, hemp cultivation is getting hit. Available statistics says, Excise department destroyed 39.11 lakh plants over 2,537 acre while police wiped out 19.17 lakh plants grown over 1,318 acre during 2020-2021. Interestingly, ganja smugglers are nabbed on a regular interval but growers escape enforcement. Not one cultivator was arrested last year though 64 cases were registered.
The challenges to stop ganja cultivation are higher too. Total value of hemp destroyed in 2020-2021 was estimated at ` 582 crore but actual cultivation could be much more as it is spread over more remote and inaccessible regions that poses a stiff challenge to the administration.
"Ganja is cultivated on hill sides, forest lands and near nullahs in Swabhiman Anchal and the areas out of reach of police but efforts to check are continuing," Chitrakonda tehsildar T Padmanav Dora says.Making alternative crops as well as farm knowledge and support available along with market links could provide a solution.
Agriculture officer of Chitrakonda block Parmeswar Jena says the government has massive plans to weed out ganja cultivation in Swabhiman Anchal by pursuing farmers to seek alternative crops.
“Apart from turmeric, we have plans to grow ragi over 1,336 hectare. Other crops belonging to the millet family including small millet and bajra will be also grown on 400 hectares land in Swabhiman Anchal. All incentives will be also given to farmers for growing alternative crops,” Jena says.