Tripura: Jampui areca nuts farmers plead for Govt help for market and transportation Issues

The Areca nuts growers in Jampui Hills of Tripura’s North District has written a letter to the Chairman of the state’s Horticulture & Agriculture Development Corporation Limited seeking his intervention in solving the problems of marketing system and transportation of areca nuts.

Jampui Hill shares border with Assam and Mizoram.

In the letter, the President Lalrawntlinga Sailo and Secretary Lalmundika of  Jampui Farmers' Union Co-Operative Society Limited said that since the last fifteen years, areca-nut plantation has become an important cash crop for the farmers in Jampui Hills and its adjoining areas. 

“The productions of areca-nut has increased manifold due to the encouragement of the government of Tripura through its various agencies. Since then it has become the main source of income and livelihood for a good number of families in Jampui Hills. As there is no a systematic marketing facilities, the farmers sold their products to the local traders (Mahajan) either in a gunny bag-wise or by making simple agreement on the basis of area of the garden. Thus results uncertainty of a market in the area. In addition to the problems of marketing system, it is regretted to mention that, from the year 2021, the farmers could not sell their products due to transportation problems faced in the neighbouring states which is the only route to the main market centre. Thus, results huge loss to the farmers”, the leaders said.

They have demanded to ease the immediate problem of areca-nut transportation in the neighbouring states by arranging a talk with the concerned authority of the neighbouring states, to make arrangement of proper marketing system within the state of Tripura in order to avoid the aforesaid problems. So that, the farmers would get maximum benefits from their products and setting up of small-scale processing unit of the areca-nut and its products in Jampui Hills through Co-operative Society or any other reliable agencies.

“We, therefore, strongly hope that you would kindly accept our aspirations favourably in doing necessary actions and thus obliged thereby”, the letter added.