Heat and water shortage scorch areca nut plantations in Raigad, farmers seek compensation

Alibag: The intense heat of May and June this year has hit areca nut plantations the hardest in Raigad district. The mercury touched around 40 degrees Celsius and water ran short. As a result, raw nuts on the trees have fallen in large numbers.

Growers estimate that in some areas 50 to 70 per cent of the nuts have dropped. The heat in October has added to worries about the yield. There are also fears of an El Nino effect ahead, which could hurt the areca nut harvest further.

In the Konkan belt of Raigad district, including Alibag, areca nut is an important cash crop for growers. They spend heavily through the year on tending the orchards, manure, spraying and arranging water. This time, the harsh sun scorched the bunches and cases of raw nuts falling increased. The earnings are now expected to fall short of what was hoped for, and orchard owners are facing financial losses.

The Alibag Taluka Coconut Areca Nut Processing Cooperative Society has demanded that the government immediately carry out panchnamas of the damage and provide financial compensation. It has also demanded that the agriculture department urgently survey the affected area, record the losses and announce financial assistance for eligible growers.

Changing weather, cyclones, rising temperatures and uncertain availability of water are making it harder with each passing day to keep these plantations going and to get the expected yield from them.

Ramesh Naik, president of the areca nut society, said, "After a year of hard work, the areca nut crop was about to come into our hands, and then the harsh sun made a large number of nuts fall. Growers are suffering a big financial loss. The government should take this situation seriously at once, carry out panchnamas of the damage and pay compensation to the growers."

In the past few years, areca nut growers in Raigad were badly hit by Cyclone Nisarga and then Cyclone Tauktae. Many plantations were damaged, especially in Shrivardhan, Murud and Alibag talukas. Thousands of areca nut trees were uprooted in the storms and some orchards were wiped out completely. The areca nut yield was affected for a long time. Even as growers were trying to recover from that loss, the intense heat and water shortage have now created a fresh crisis for them.