And along came ginger....

Ginger cultivation has altered land-use patterns and lifestyles in Uttara Kannada’s Banavasi region. Growing ginger is capital intensive and highly profitable, but is changing the ecological balance of a region which has traditionally been known for its deep-water paddy, writes Anitha Pailoor

“We are forced to use more fertilisers and heavy doses of pesticides as rainfall often drains them off easily.” Neighbours Krishna Naik and Dayananda Naik discuss the crop that brought them riches as they walk along the disease-ridden ginger plots in Madhuravalli near Banavasi.

Their conversation revolves around the disappearance of crab and fish in the streams, ponds and tanks of the area. During the course of their discussion, they also realise that open sources of water are not safe for human consumption. These open sources referred to are the waterways of River Varada which flow though Uttara Kannada for a distance of six kilometres, nurturing a population of over 25,000 and their irrigation plots in 21 villages situated on the banks of the river.

Pineapple and ginger are the two crops that changed land-use pattern and lifestyle in ten gram panchayats that fall under Banavasi hobli where paddy is the time-honoured crop. Ginger was an intercrop in the region from the last three decades. This healthy equation ceased to exist when the ginger wave from Wayanad reached eastern pockets of Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada through Kodagu, Hassan, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts. Typically, farmers cultivate deep-water paddy in the Varada basin. In spite of being inundated for some weeks, when the river floods the fields, the paddy survives.

About a dozen varieties including the most popular Nereguli, which withstand the fury of nature, have been developed and preserved by farmers in their fields. Though a ‘survivor crop’, paddy does not bring them capital. Farmers were trying out horticulture crops when they discovered the thrilling possibilities of ginger.

By that time, growers from Kerala had reached the neighbouring taluks of Banavasi where they rent land for lease at a price of Rs 30,000 per acre. Local growers were astonished to see the potential of the crop. The increase in the price of ginger since 2005 motivated them to cultivate it. Uplands which were not irrigated were the trial fields.

Money matters

“Ginger cultivation is similar to gambling. High investment and overwhelming returns are the key words when it comes to this crop,” says Bengali Prasanna Hegde who has been cultivating ginger from the last four years. As compared to other cash crops, cultivation of ginger is more capital intensive and highly profitable. There are instances when farmers earned an income of Rs five lakh per acre with an investment of one lakh. This is rarely possible in any other annual crop. With the only goal being the yield, farmers used all possible fertilisers and pesticides.             
                                                                                            
“Six quintals are the recommended seed quantity per acre. But farmers increase it to ten quintals. To maintain the crop and get expected yield it becomes crucial for them to stick to a series of chemical dosages which are at times thrice the advised measure,” says Satheesh Hegde, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Horticulture Department, Sirsi.

Siddanna, a farmer in Hebbatti village near Banavasi, grows ginger on his two-acre land.

In the last one decade, he increased the quantity of seeds from one quintal to twenty quintals. The steep decline in the prices from Rs 3,000 to Rs 500 per quintal has disturbed the growers who switched over from paddy in anticipation of a good price.

Though he couldn’t make a profit this year, he will continue with the crop next year. “Though it fills our stomach, paddy doesn’t give us a single rupee as profit. Can you even imagine a yield up to ten lakh on two acres within a span of a year?” he asks. He can survive with this dream as his areca farm sustains his family.

But small farmers like Devaraj Chalavadi who owns three-and-a-half acres of land cannot afford to experiment with ginger on their land. In such cases they follow their counterparts from Kerala and rent land for lease. Devaraj has spent one tractor of haystack and 17 bags of paddy to get two acres upland for one year. Soft rot disease which affected 30 per cent of the total crop in the region is prevalent on his farm also. He is waiting for May to harvest the remaining yield when the chances of price hike are more.

Ginger is considered to be a fortune crop. From uplands, the crop slowly reached fertile lands. A major cause of this extension was that ginger-cultivated land requires a two-year break between two harvests. With the increase in price, farming practices reached another level. Once a dryland crop, ginger soon gained the status of an irrigated crop. The National Horticulture Mission also lent support, though it was later withdrawn, because in most places, the owner of the land and the farmer were not the same.

Even non-farmers ventured into ginger cultivation. This year, soft rot disease along with the decline in prices has pinned down their hopes. Incessant rainfall during the monsoon is considered to be the root cause for the disease. The over-application of fertiliser leads to quick vegetative growth, which also increases the possibility of infection, especially in the rainy season. According to farmer Siddanna, leaf spot disease and shoot borer attack were also noticed.

The other side

According to the Horticulture Department, the area under ginger cultivation in Banavasi hobli was 250 hectares this year, 63 hectares more than the previous year. But the actual number might be manifold, with unregistered land being used for the purpose.

“Ginger has brought wealth to this part of Sirsi taluk, which otherwise was found in the areca-growing belt. In the process, we have overlooked the negative impact on forest land and its consequent bearing on River Varada,” says farmer and journalist Raghunandan Bhat. He also points out that people are deprived of eating freshwater fish and have to depend on breeding tanks. Panic has gripped people living on the banks of the Varada, as the use of pesticides and fertilisers has reportedly contaminated the water. Farmers observe that more than 500 tanks in the region are no more potable.

As chemical fertiliser and pesticide shops increased in Banavasi, a number of cases with skin allergies and bronchitis were reported in the local public health centre. The new cropping pattern has not only affected their health but also sustainability. Frustration of our food providers has increased with growing instability in the agriculture sector.

This, along with lack of information, pushes them into such ventures unmindful of long-term effects.

“People in urban areas have a fixed income and enjoy a lot of privileges. Why are you so concerned when we opt for a crop considering its economical value? After all, we are not polluting the environment as you do,” says Dayanand Nayak, echoing many a farmer’s opinion about city dwellers.

Damage caused to land, water and forest with change in land use and cultivation practices is irreversible.

Biodiversity is lost; deforestation and monoculture have negatively affected the Varada allowing her to invade the fields for a distance of one kilometre on both the sides. Impact of ginger cultivation on the ecosystem needs to be studied and understood comprehensively. It is time we acted before the situation is irretrievable.