adequate prices for whatever little they have managed to grow. Thanks to the failure of the government to provide them with even the minimum support price for their rice grains, the farmers of the state are left with no other choice other than to sell them at dirt cheap rates.The minimum price fixed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procuring rice grains is `1020-1080 per quintal. But due to the lack of FCI procurement centers in the state, farmers are left with no other choice other than to sell the grains to unscrupulous middlemen for less than half of the FCI fixed price. Assam is primarily an agricultural state with more than 70 per cent of the total population depending on agriculture for their livelihood. The FCI, however, has not been fixing enough procurement centers in the state where farmers can sell their products. This year too, only 13 FCI procurement centers have been set up in the state which has a total of 27 districts.

 

It may be mentionable here that the list of FCI procurement centers in the state this year are at Tihu (Nalbari), Haibargaon (Nagaon), Hojai (Nagaon), Golaghat (Golaghat), Tinsukia (Tinsukia), Salkhuwa (Dibrugarh), Tangla (Udalguri), Bindukrui (Sonitpur), Narayanpur (North Lakhimpur), Dhemaji (Dhemaji), Gossaigaon (Kokrajhar), Baarpur Ghat (Karimganj) and Ramnagar (Cachar). We visited Rajapukhuri village of South Kamrup and found the farmers there to be a dejected lot. Kamrup district does not have a FCI procurement centre. The nearest FCI center is in Tihu at Nalbari and transporting the rice grains to the centre is not feasible on account of the transportation costs. As one cultivator Surjya Das said, “We have received very less rainfall this year which has greatly affected our crop production. At the same time, we are yet to receive the benefits of the irrigation schemes of the State Government. And if that was not enough, we are not even getting a decent price for our grains.” Farmers of the villages in South Kamrup are selling their rice for `550-600 per quintal. Similar views were echoed by another cultivator of Rajapukhuri village, Bolen Das, who said, “We have failed to even recover our initial investment in the crops. If the situation continues like this, we will have to stop farming and search for other sources of livelihood very soon.”

Even though the Congress is in power in both the centre and the state, the failure of the State Government to persuade the FCI to set up more procurement centers in Assam has not gone down well amongst the people. The resentment has already started to pour in and this year it has started from Titabor –– the home constituency of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who, despite being in power for the last 11 years, has not managed to convince the FCI to set up more centers. In a letter to the Chief Minister, the Titabor committee of the Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) has strongly lashed out against the government for failing to think about the welfare of the farmers of the state. “Titabor’s rice was famous all over the state at one point of time. Today, our farmers can barely make ends meet. Will our farmers have to commit suicide before the State Government wakes up?” the AJYCP leaders asked in the letter.

 

Titabor’s rice was famous all over the state at one point of time. Today, our farmers can barely make ends meet. Will our farmers have to commit suicide before the State Government wakes up?

On the brighter side, some farmers have stated to take matters into their own hands, some of whom are busy now in rubber plantation. It may be mentionable that if farmers in Sonapur in Kamrup district are taking to orange cultivation in a big way, rubber plantations are also leading to increasing prosperity among the people of Sonapur. By turning to the highly lucrative rubber cultivation, many people in Sonapur have scripted success stories and shown the way for others to follow suit. This reporter visited Sonapur to see how rubber cultivation has opened opportunities for self - employment, especially among the unemployed youth of the area. There is more than 100 hectares of land under rubber cultivation in the Sonapur revenue circle area. Hareswar Deka, a farmer said, “I took to rubber cultivation way back in 1986. I started off on a small plot of land and without any formal training. Today I have 14 hectares of land under rubber cultivation. I started rubber tapping (the process by which natural rubber is collected) in 1996. At present, tapping is done in rubber trees covering five hectares of land.” He added, “When I started rubber cultivation, rubber prices were quite low. But now there is a rising demand for rubber products in markets and hence rubber prices have increased to `200 per kg. Sensing the prospects that the growing rubber industry has to offer, many people have taken to rubber cultivation on a large scale.”

 

“It takes 6-7 years for a rubber tree to mature before you can start tapping. Also, farmers who do their own rubber processing can expect better returns. Rubber processing is not that difficult and can be done using small machines. Hence small rubber farmers should look for processing their own rubber as this will fetch them good returns,” said Deka, a retired government employee whose rubber plantations, in his own words, have given him ‘satisfaction and contentment’. In 2010-11, Assam was the second largest producer of rubber in the North East, after Tripura, with a total production of 8,050 metric tones. Leonit Teron, an unemployed youth who has also taken up rubber cultivation as a means of livelihood, said, “Rubber cultivation offers a source of livelihood for youth like me. I have started rubber cultivation on 21 bighas of land on my own and on 70 bighas of land along with a self-help group. My target is to extend my rubber cultivation to 100 bighas.” He added, “My advice to unemployed youth is that if you have your own plot of land, go for some training and take up rubber cultivation. The government has also launched many schemes which, if properly implemented, can enhance rubber production. Increased rubber production will definitely improve the economic conditions of the people here.”

Besides this, first tried out in Japan and Thailand, a concept village is coming up in a sleepy hamlet in Nalbari district where thousands of lemon trees will be planted to improve local economy. Under the concept of ‘one village one product’, the North East Financial Development Corporation along with a local NGO is setting up what it describes as a ‘lemon village’ at Arora in Nalbari district. The institution’s chairman-cum-managing director, Kashi Nath Hazarika, says that the concept, which has been a success in Japan and Thailand, is being tried out for the first time in the North East with the planting of nearly 10,000 lemon saplings in Arora village under Nalbari district. Hazarika says the yield, which will find a ready market among the local population, will generate annual average revenue of `10 lakh per year. He exudes confidence that the climatic condition is suitable for the growth of lemons and the village will be able to generate its own market for the product. It may be mentionable that Arora is an agrarian village with nearly 600 families most of whom are farmers. Initially, 250 farmers have been provided with lemon saplings. NEDFI has facilitated one-time funding for initial requirement of manure and insecticide and has engaged a technician as mentor for the project.  Hazarika even hoped that in the third year around 10,000 lemon plants will be grown in the village which will yield at least 10 lakh lemons. “The availability of such a large quantity of lemons from a single village will not only help the farmers, but also develop the market,” Hazarika added.

Mithinga Daimary, the central publicity wing secretary of the ULFA has also started Broccoli plantation in Barama in Nalbari district. As well as Mithinga, Kamal Kachari, another ULFA leader and other some cadre of the outfit have also started various agricultural enterprises in Baghbara and Mairadanga under Barpeta and Baksa district respectively. Meanwhile, the Assam Government’s Agriculture Department has started procurement of rice after fixation of support price by the State Government. The State Agriculture minister Nilamoni Sen Deka said so after he visited Jagara village under Nalbari district to launch a potato scheme and disclosed that the Department had started the drive to purchase rice from the farmers from December 1st at a support price between `1,080 to `1,110 per quintal. The Agriculture minister further stated that initially the drive was undertaken only in 13 districts of Assam so that the poor farmers may get the benefit. The minister was optimistic that the state will succeed in exporting agricultural products to other states within the next three years. He further added that as the demand of processed foods is very high in the market; the government has decided to set up 160 food processing units in the state so that the farmers may get remunerative prices for their products. The minister further stated that an agriculture training centre will be set at Lakhopur in his own constituency at a cost of `2.5 crore next year. In order to ensure women’s involvement in the agricultural sector, the government has decided to provide more emphasis on women. The minister informed that the Agriculture Department has planned to distribute 8,000 power tillers next year and 4,000 of them will be given to women. He informed that the State Government had been stressing on mechanized agriculture. It may be mentionable that Nilamoni Sen Deka, the State Agriculture minister of Assam was accompanied by the Nalbari Deputy Commissioner Lalit Gogoi.

However, now the question is, will the cries of Assam’s farmers be answered by these steps?

Neelim Akash Kashyap