Analysis: Why are farmers chopping down orange trees?
Why have orange orchards withered?
This year brought a series of crises for orange growers. Initially, the flowering (ambia bahar) was excellent. To sustain this bloom, farmers spent thousands of rupees on expensive fertilizers and pesticides. However, in April and May, temperatures in the orange-growing belt soared past 45-46 degrees Celsius. This unprecedented heatwave caused the fruits on the trees to shrivel and fall. During such extreme temperatures, farmers did not receive proper guidance. Irregular electricity supply and lack of irrigation further complicated the problems for orange growers.
What is the state of the orange business in Vidarbha?
Oranges are recognized as the main fruit crop of Vidarbha. Primarily, two harvests are taken. The orange orchards spread over 1.60 lakh hectares in Vidarbha are productive. Of this, the highest area of 70,000 hectares is in Amravati district. Oranges are grown extensively in talukas like Warud, Morshi, Achalpur, Chandurbazar, as well as in Nagpur district's Katol, Narkhed, Saoner, and Kalmeshwar talukas. These orchards produce at least 7.5 to 8 lakh metric tons of oranges annually. This includes an average of 4.5 lakh tons of the ambia crop and 2.5 to 3 lakh tons of the mrig crop. Ambia oranges are grown on 65,000 hectares, while mrig oranges are grown on 40-45,000 hectares. However, farmers struggle to get a fair market price.
Why is there a disparity between cost and income?
On one hand, the cost of fertilizers, seeds, spraying, and labor has skyrocketed, reaching about Rs 1.5 lakh per acre per year. On the other hand, the market does not offer fair prices. Due to small-sized oranges, income is only Rs 20,000 to 25,000. Oranges have never received the government and commercial protection that crops like grapes get. In years of high production, prices fall; sometimes, due to low prices, farmers have to throw away oranges. The lack of orange processing industries in Vidarbha and incorrect export policies have left farmers in complete crisis.
What are the management shortcomings?
This serious situation is attributed not only to nature's unpredictability but also to a lack of planning and flawed government policies. According to agricultural experts, at many places, soil testing was not done, and grafts brought from inappropriate locations were planted. Orchards were established on land with more than 10% limestone content by imitating others, which drastically increased management costs. Continuous fruit drop, infestation of gummosis and anthracnose diseases created a series of crises. Additionally, falling groundwater levels hindered irrigation. This year's increased temperatures led to massive fruit drop. In terms of oranges, very little work has been done at institutional and government levels on new research, advanced cultivation technology, effective nutrient and pest management, marketing systems, and processing. Orange growers are suffering the consequences.
What do orange growers want?
In recent years, the area under orange cultivation has been decreasing. The recent memorandum sent by the 'Kisan Nyay Hakka Sangharsh Samiti' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and local representatives symbolizes the intense anger and pain of farmers.
Farmers have demanded that the government take immediate and long-term measures. Their demands include: conducting on-the-spot surveys of affected areas and providing a minimum subsidy of Rs 1 lakh per hectare under a special financial package directly into farmers' accounts; ensuring at least 10 hours of uninterrupted power supply from Mahavitaran to save orange orchards; removing stringent conditions in fruit crop insurance and approving insurance amounts immediately; formulating a separate 'protection policy' for orange growers considering climate change; and establishing processing industries in Vidarbha to boost exports. This year, farmers fear that if the mrig crop does not arrive in June, they will have to cut down even the remaining trees by October. So the government needs to take immediate action.
