DHARMAPURI: Once considered a profitable crop, betel leaf cultivation is now losing its sheen as farmers grapple with falling market prices, limited marketing, and soaring labour costs, pushing many to the brink of abandoning their age-old practice. To prevent this, Dharmapuri farmers are urging the horticulture department to take steps to provide a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 12,000 per lot.
Betel leaves are cultivated in 250 acres with 1,500 farmers involved in the trade. It is primarily cultivated in Palayampaudur, Kombai, Jallikottai, Reddipatti, and Kodipatti. In most cases, the leaves produced in the district are sold in private market lots (mootai) comprising 128 bundles (each bundle contains about 120 leaves). However, over the past few years, adverse climatic conditions, diseases, pest attacks, higher labour costs, and lack of marketing avenues have deeply affected profits.
S Devaraj from Komathampatti village said, "Betel farmers can only cultivate good leaves once every eight months. So every year, a farmer can sell his produce once or at best twice a year. Despite such limitations, the pricing of the leaves has been poor over the past few years.
On average, we are getting paid about Rs 7,000 to Rs 9,000. We fetch slightly better prices during the monsoon, but it is still not profitable, especially due to higher labour costs. We need about four skilled workers to tend the fields every week, and it costs about Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per person. During the monsoon, labour cost rises and a large chunk of our profits is lost to this."
Another farmer, R Nagaraj from Jallikottai, said, "While a large portion of profits is lost for labour, we spend money on preventing plant diseases as well as fertilisers. Last year was chaotic due to a harsh drought, which forced farmers to invest more money into irrigation, and later in the year, rains caused by Cyclone Fengal forced us to spend again on protecting our vines. It was a complete loss, and so far, the situation this year has not been any better."
R Chinnasami from Kombai, who commented on the situation, said, "In the upcoming season, we stand to face a decline in production during the northeast monsoon. We estimate a 70% loss. At that time, even if prices soar, at best, it would be Rs 30,000 per bundle, but we will still not make profits. Therefore, the situation is unstable, and if it persists, farmers will be forced to abandon cultivation. Therefore, we need an MSP of Rs 12,000 per lot to make a profit."
Horticulture department officials said, "The district has very limited betel leaf farmers. If they are facing marketing challenges, we can coordinate with the agriculture marketing department and take steps to help them. Regarding MSP, it is a policy decision, and we cannot comment on this."
