I HAVE NEVER faced such monumental crop loss," says Bijendra Chaurasia, reviewing his betel leaf garden, or bareja, spread over 0.4 hectare (ha). "The heavy dew and cold waves in January destroyed my 10 lakh worth of pan (betel leaves)," says the 29-year-old, looking at the blackened vines entwined around bamboo sticks placed in rows in a greenhouse that resembles a rectangular hut. Betel leaves, along with areca nuts and other assorted condiments, are chewed as mouth fresheners across the Indian subcontinent. Bijendra says his ancestors have grown pan for hundreds of years in Mahoba, a district on the southern border of Uttar Pradesh. "My generation might be the last to cultivate it."
His neighbour Rajkumar Chaurasia says all the 100 families who grow pan in the district have faced crop destruction this year. "The losses are huge as most of us grow the Mahoba Desawari variety, which practically dissolves in the mouth and has a unique fragrance. It fetches double the price than most other varieties," says Rajkumar, also the vice-president of Chaurasia Samaj Sewa Samiti, that worked to obtain a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Mahoba Desawari Pan in 2021. "It took us eight years to prove its unique characteristics and get the GI tag. But there are no buyers this year for the frost-hit leaves."
Denne historien er fra March 16, 2023-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra March 16, 2023-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
