A sweet legacy

Over the years, the little town of Mahalingpur in Mudhol taluk, Bagalkot district has seen many changes, but it has not lost its fame as a jaggery production hub. The making of pure and tasty jaggery has been its rich tradition, as several villages in Mudhol taluk have engaged in the occupation for more than a century. The agriculture produce market committee (APMC) in Mahalingpur is a nerve centre of the jaggery business. It has been attracting thousands of buyers from across the region. The market is abuzz with trade, as jaggery-making units (alemanes) begin operations after Ugadi. Sugar factories complete cane-crushing operations after the harvesting season, post November.

Around 90 per cent of farmers in Mudhol taluk grow sugarcane, as the villages are situated on the banks of the Krishna and Ghataprabha rivers. The sugarcane being produced in the region is known for its high nutrient content, due to the fertile red soil. The cane also has a very good recovery, at around 1 quintal and 40 kilograms of jaggery for every tonne of the crop. Around 100 to 110 kg of jaggery can be produced from every tonne of sugarcane. 

Three types of jaggery are currently being sold in the market: saffron, white, and chemical-free jaggery. White jaggery is also sold in powder form. Initially, about ten years ago, 30-kg jaggery blocks were being sold in the market. Later, 10-kg and 5-kg jaggery blocks were introduced. Now, one-kg, half-kg and 250-gram jaggery blocks are also being prepared.

White and saffron jaggery produced here are sold in Gujarat, while chemical-free jaggery is sold in various places in the state. Meanwhile, a few farmers have found their own market to supply the jaggery. “I have been supplying 30 tonnes of jaggery to six nations, including Gulf countries. I produce 18 flavours of jaggery, made using various ingredients like ginger, cardamom, pepper and Ashwagandha. Food department officials should curb the production of poor-quality jaggery by using chemicals to protect the Mahalingpur jaggery brand,” says Mahalingappa Itnal, a farmer. 

However, jaggery production is losing its sheen due to the decline in traditional practices, labour shortages and high costs. The number of people involved in jaggery production has been dwindling due to losses, even though the area under sugarcane cultivation is on the rise. Farmers are preferring to sell their cane produce to sugar factories, which have increased in numbers, as well as crushing capacity over the years. The jaggery-making units seem to be struggling to stand the test of time.

“At least one out of four households were engaged in jaggery production in Mahalingpur, until the first sugar factory was started after 1970. Now, the farmers are selling their cane produce to 13 sugar factories in Bagalkot district. There is a lack of encouragement from the government for jaggery production. A few farmers are producing jaggery and selling it on their own in the open market,” says organic farmer Sanganagouda Patil of Jambagi village.

Only a few jaggery-making units are running in the district. Most of them have closed down as they could not withstand the competition from the sugar factories. These sugar mills undertake cane crushing soon after the start of the harvest season in November, until March end. Later in the year, jaggery units start operating, crushing the leftover cane produce.

“The Mahalingpur APMC witnessed the arrival of seven to eight thousand quintals of jaggery per day a few decades ago. Thousands of farmers from Gokak, Raibag and adjacent taluks used to converge in the market. Now, this has come down to only 500 quintals per day,” says Mahalingpur APMC assistant secretary Ravi Rathod.

Jaggery park

The setting up of a first-of-its-kind organic jaggery technology park at Mudhol in 2011 by the government was expected to boost the industry. Built by the University of Agriculture Sciences Dharwad, under the National Agriculture Development Scheme, it has not come in handy to the farmers, owing to the high cost of production.

“The jaggery park has been shut down for the last two years as the farmers could not afford to pay the high price of crushing operations. Moreover, there was also a prerequisite to crush a minimum of 3 thousand tonnes of produce per farmer. The farmers started supplying their cane produce to the sugar factories instead, as the price of jaggery in the market is only Rs 40 per kg, which is equal to the cost of jaggery production,” says farmer Arjun Halagigoudar of Madabhavi village.

Arjun also says that jaggery tea stalls mushrooming in the state has been a ray of hope for the industry as it is expected to boost the demand. At least 15 to 20 tea stalls have opened in every city and town in the north Karnataka region in the last four to five years.

Organic farmers are also stressing the need to curb adulterated jaggery which uses chemical ingredients and raw sugar purchased from factories at a cheaper rate.

“Many farmers are making jaggery by mixing around nine quintals of raw sugar with every hundred litres of cane juice, along with acid and colour. The officials concerned should prevent this to facilitate the revival of the industry,” Arjun adds.

The jaggery park was operated by the staff members of University of Agriculture Sciences Dharwad for the first four to five years, says Mudhol Agriculture Research Station Farms Superintendent Srikanth Chavan. Later, the contract for its operation and maintenance was handed over to local farmer organisations. But operations have stopped due to staffing issues and the lack of proper maintenance. Also, there is a shortage of sugar supply, as the farmers are opting to sell their produce to sugar factories, he adds.