TIRUCHY: The pale dry sticks hanging from the stem are no soothing sight, and it drummed in an agonising message to the farmers: Even drumsticks (moringa), considered a drought-resistant crop, will dry off in adverse weather conditions. The absence of rains and the unprecedented high temperature for nearly two months have reduced the yield by half even in Aravakurichi in Karur.
Ask R Selvaraj associated with Aruvai Murungai Vivasayigal Nala Sangam who cultivated drumstick in two acres of land at Esanatham in Aravakuruchi, he would say normally March to June and October to November would have been the months when he gets good yield. “But this time it is different. Blame it on the absence of rain and heatwave-like conditions,” he rues, adding though a few trees bore some yield, it did not fetch good price as it is of poor quality.
Among the four types of drumstick varieties - PKM 1, PKM 2, tree moringa and annual moringa - cultivated across the state, majority of the farmers in Aravakuruchi prefer cultivating annual moringa as it is a high yielding variety and bears fruit for almost six months in a year. Each tree yields 300 to 400 drumsticks in a season and remains productive for about one-and-a-half years. Plus, the variety also fetches high price to the farmers as it is considered to be the best in taste. On the other hand, tree moringa, though produces 600-700 drumsticks in a tree in a season, fetches lower price when compared to annual moringa as it varies in taste and fleshiness.
V Balasubramanian, a farmer from Nadur Lingamanaickenpatti in Karur said the farmers in the region depend entirely on water from Amaravathi and Kudaganar rivers. “However, this time both the rivers have dried up, and our efforts to irrigate the crop using groundwater failed to protect the trees. Almost all the trees ended up bearing no fruit. Normally, we harvest around one-and-a-half tonnes of drumsticks per acre during the season. This year, we encountered more than 60% production loss,” he says.
Anouther challenge we face, Balasubramanian says, is labour shortage as most of the farm hands now prefer the jobs as part of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme that ensure them returns. “Peafowl meance is also common. Their number has increased manifold and they damage tender drumsticks. The hot climate apart, these are also reasons for the heavy losses incurred by the farmers,” he points out.
KRK Kuppusamy, a wholesale moringa trader in Aravakuruchi says, due to low production this year, traders witnessed a very poor arrival of the produce in the market. “We transport drumsticks from Aravakuruchi to Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru during this season - March to June. However, due to the limited availability, we are unable to run the business as usual. Normally, the market receives around 300 tonnes of drumsticks a day. But this year, it has come down to 150 to 200 tonnes,” Kuppusamy claims.
R Kannan, marketing officer of Agri Business and Marketing, echoed the same sentiments of the farmers, saying they have incurred heavy losses this year. “The total area of moringa cultivation in Aravakuruchi, Moolanur, Chinnatharapuram, Pallapatti, Karur Paramathi, and Vairamadai is 7,291 acres, with around 8,000 to 9,000 farmers involved in the cultivation the crop. Mostly, they raise tree moringa and annual moringa varieties. Due to climatic changes, farmers have incurred up to 70% yield loss this year,” he says.
He also said the works of Rs 4 crore-worth of drumstick powder making unit near Aravakurichi has almost been completed.
“Since raw drumsticks fetch low price, we are encouraging farmers to explore options for producing value-added products. We hope a considerable number of farmers may take up such initiatives,” he adds.