Deficient rainfall hits banana crop in Uttar Pradesh
Three months of the southwest monsoon are already past and Uttar Pradesh has a rainfall deficit of minus 44%. This has adversely affected both quality and quantity of the fruit, say farmers in Barabanki.
Virendra Singh 2 Sep 2022 8:25 AM GMT
Farmers in Barabanki said that they are fighting three battles simultaneously – inflation, stray animal menace, and climate change. All photos by Virendra Singh
Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh
India is the largest producer of bananas in the world. In the last five years, Uttar Pradesh has joined the ranks of the banana cultivating states in the country that include Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
In Uttar Pradesh, farmers in districts such as Sitapur, Kaushambi, Bahraich, Faizabad and Barabanki are growing bananas along with the more traditional produce of paddy, sesame and maize.
However, in Barabanki, there has been some distress amongst the banana cultivators as according to them, a deficit in the rainfall this monsoon season has led to huge losses in the banana crop, and what has survived is smaller and of poor quality, they said.
"I cultivated bananas in two acres of land and was happy as initially, the crop looked healthy and was growing well," Narendra Shukla of Tekwa village in Suratganj block of Barabanki, told Gaon Connection. "I was expecting the rainfall to arrive on time, but that did not happen. Though I did water the crop, it is not the same as rainfall," he added.
The bananas from Barabanki always fetched a better price than those from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, but it was not so this year.
Shukla had invested about two lakh rupees on the banana rop and it looked like he would not even recover Rs 50,000, he despaired.
Three months (June-July-August) of the southwest monsoon are over and Uttar Pradesh has a rainfall deficit of minus 44 per cent, as reflected in the data of India Meteorological Department (IMD). Low rainfall has affected paddy sowing in the state, and now banana farmers are also complaining of low productivity.
Map: State-wise monsoon rainfall in India (1 June to 1 September, 2022)
Note: Red: Deficient (-59% to -20%), Green: Normal (-19% to 19%), Blue: Excess (20% to 59%), Dark blue: Large excess: 60% or more. Source: India Meteorological Department
"Approximately 2,700 acres of land in Barabanki are under banana cultivation," Mahesh Kumar Srivastav, horticulture officer, Barabanki district, told Gaon Connection.
Graph: State-wise banana production in India (2021-22)
Source: http://apeda.in/agriexchange/homepage.aspx
According to Srivastav, the crop starts flowering in June/July at which time it is of utmost importance that it receives rainfall. However, this year, the district saw negligible rain in those two months resulting in crop damage. As of today, September 2, Barabanki has a rainfall deficit of minus 36 per cent.
Farmer Ram Kumar of Shankarpur village regrets his decision of switching from traditional produce of paddy and wheat to bananas. "I thought I would make a profit from cultivating bananas, but that was not to be," he rued. Ram Kumar had invested about Rs 100,000 on his acre of bananas, but feared he would not recover any significant amount of that.
Deficient rainfall, poor quality crop and drop in prices
The poor crop has led to a sharp drop in prices of bananas. "The quality of the bananas are very poor this time. While, in the past the farmers could get about Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 a quintal, this year they are being forced to sell between Rs 900 to Rs 1,200 a quintal," Ravindra Kumar, a banana trader in Barabanki, told Gaon Connection.
"We farmers are fighting three battles – inflation, stray animal menace, and climate change," Ram Kishore, a 50-year-old farmer from Basari village in Suratganj block of Barabanki, lamented.
"The rains have been playing truant for the past couple of years. Not having timely rains has affected the bananas," the farmer from Basari village said. "Even though we have incurred extra expense to irrigate the land, it has not improved the quality of our produce. Irrigation is not the same as rainfall," he added.
When the banana plant begins to flower, rainfall is essential, explained Amrendra Singh, progressive and organic farmer from Daulatpur in Barabanki, who cultivates large tracts of bananas.
"Banana farmers have been facing problems right from the flowering to the harvesting stage because of the lack of adequate rains," the progressive farmer told Gaon Connection. "Because there were no rains, farmers had to use more fertilisers to protect the crop. That damaged the fruit to some extent and farmers' expenses went up by 25 per cent," he explained.
Also Read: Mango production in India to be hit due to early arrival of heatwaves
But, the extra expenses and care did not help the quality or the quantity of the fruit, complain farmers.
Map: District-wise rainfall in India (1 June to 1 September, 2022)
Note: Red: Deficient (-59% to -20%), Green: Normal (-19% to 19%), Blue: Excess (20% to 59%), Dark blue: Large excess: 60% or more. Source: India Meteorological Department
"When we send the bananas to mandis in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu, the appearance of the bananas determines the price they will fetch. This time the bananas were small and poor looking in appearance and did not get a good price," Amrendra Singh said.
According to him, the bananas from Barabanki always fetched a better price than those from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, but it was not so this year.
"Usually the expense of cultivating bananas is about one lakh rupees per acre, and the farmer would make about two lakh rupees from the produce. But this year even the most mindful of farmers have invested about Rs 125,000 per acre and are struggling to even recover what they have spent on cultivating the crop," he pointed out.
