by Röhan Abraham and Sharanya Munsi
The fabled rose water grapes which sweeten the mouths of the rest of world have begun tasting sour to those who cultivate them. Majority of the farmers in Cumbum valley in Theni district have been engaged in grape farming since the turn of the millennium with a few outliers choosing to sow their fields with other cash crops like vanilla or pepper.
"Compared to last year, because of dew, crop yield is much lower, and it has also been affected by pests and disease," said Saravanan, a member of the Surulipatti Grape Growers Association. The variety of grapes cultivated in the Cumbum-Theni belt is famed for its essence which fills one with the taste and smell of rose water.
This year the going rate for their produce is Rs.40 for a kilogram whereas last year the going rate was around Rs.100. However, yield was lesser last year which drove up the prices since demand could not be satiated by the unexpected shortfall in supply.
The prices have further plummeted since the beginning of the season to Rs.20 per kilogram due to the invasion of seedless grapes from Maharashtra into the local market, against which they are unable to compete. Thus, the farmers are left with no other alternative than to sell at rock bottom prices.
With the rain gods playing truant, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. The district did not even get 10 percent of the normal expected rainfall this season. “Usually, if we get 15cm of rain, this year, there was hardly 1.5cm,” said Saravanan, who emphasized that the district was officially declared as being drought-hit due to the abject failure of the North-east monsoon.
The region, which falls inside the Vaigai basin, has been devoid of its eponymous source of water. As an alternative, the locals have been forced to use groundwater aquifers for irrigation. However, the paucity of rainfall has dented their main supply of water for irrigation, with the water table being gradually depleted, and wells running dry.
According to the Fertilizer Statistics, 2014, as compiled in the Horticulture Statistics Handbook of India, 56.78 percent of the total cultivable land in Tamil Nadu is irrigated by using ground water. This is statistic is corroborated by the irrigation practices adopted by the grape farmers of Theni.
Moreover, the dependence on canals, which draw on river water for irrigation, is extremely low and stands at 25 percent. In certain districts in the Cauvery basin, this trend can be partly attributed to the ongoing dispute in sharing of the Cauvery river water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Surprisingly, the share of canal irrigated farmland in Karnataka is not significantly higher, and tallies at 32.42 percent of the total irrigated land in the state. This supplements Karnataka's stance on the dispute, where it has been accused of not releasing the mandated amount of water to its downstream neighbour.
The Surulipatti Grape Growers Association represents the interests of all ten plantations in the valley where a total of 3000 acres of land is under cultivation, tended to by 2000 to 3000 labourers who work for daily wages.
The dichotomy between the sexes in all spheres of social life is an accepted norm in rural Theni, but this divide is clearly visible if the daily wages are to be compared. The minimum wage for men is Rs.400 per day whereas for females, it amounts to Rs.200 for the same quantum of work.
Saravanan, however begs to differ. He believes that there is no discrimination on the grounds of sex, and that workers are paid according to the nature of work. Women are usually allotted comparatively easier tasks such as pruning the weeds and plucking the grapes whereas men have the task of tilling the soil, spraying pesticides and laying out the trellis frame on which the vines are grafted.
The state government, which had promised a slew of relief measures in the case of crop failure, has failed to keep their word. Low yield has forced farmers to sell their produce at rock bottom prices, driving many who were previously indebted to moneylenders, into destitution.
Theni district, which contributes the lion's share of Tamil Nadu’s grape produce, is putting the country’s wine on the international map along with its counterparts from Nashik. Tamil Nadu stands third in terms of total value of grapes produced, trailing Maharashtra which leads the pack.
Almost the entirety of irrigation in the Cumbum valley plantations is through ground water and due to a deficit in rainfall; the water table has been drying up slowly. To a passing onlooker, the lush green foliage might present a picturesque view, but behind the pall of normalcy and abundance, there hangs the scepter of drought.
Grape farming is also highly water intensive, and if the present trends in precipitation were to continue, the future of the rose water grapes of Theni could be irreparably affected.
The farmers of the valley cultivate grapes in three cycles per year. Each crop takes around 120 days of maturing before they are ready to harvest. This is opposed to the seedless grapes from Maharashtra whose yield patterns are seasonal.
In the old days, labourers were assured wages throughout the year since three cycles of the crop would require constant attention. However, plantations owners with small and marginal land holdings are being forced scale down cultivation since paucity of rainfall has impacted the quality and quantity of the yield. This has had a severe bearing on the social status of the population, with many people being forced under, or made to work for wages less than the minimum wage.
"There is a factory that has come up in the vicinity that produces wine but instead of improving our fortunes, it has belied our high expectations since they have set the prices abysmally low. We are not able to make our ends meet," said Tavashi, a member of the Surulipatti Grape Growers Association.
The Cumbum Valley Winery, which is headquartered at T. Nagar, in Chennai has set the rate for acquiring grapes at Rs.15 per kilogram, which is far below the market price. When approached for comment, the Chennai based winery was unreachable.
The villagers believe that if there was greater competition among factories, the prices may go up to Rs.25 a kilogram, which would represent huge gains for them since wineries place bulk orders, the volume of which cannot be matched through open market sale to consumers who buy for personal use.
“The factory is indulging in sheer exploitation. It is only because it is a monopoly that we are being forced to sell at 15 rupees. If we were to sell it outside and get 17 or 18 rupees, that extra two or three rupees earned would make huge difference to our finances,” Saravanan said.
The rose water grapes which are sold in nearby markets, is bought by people for eating or preparing squashes. Saravanan emphasized that individual consumers will only buy half a kg or one kg at the most, whereas if the winery were to acquire the bulk of their produce at rates which are even marginally higher than the pittance they were currently being paid, then their lives would take a turn for the better since many farmers who had taken loans would be able to avoid defaulting.
As per the data released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for 2015, India exported 1,07,257.86 tonnes of grapes earning revenue to the tune of Rs.1,08,649.02 lakhs. This amounts to Rs.1.0129 lakhs per tonne. If one were to derive the average cost per kilogram of grapes from this figure, it would come to approximately Rs.101. This is in stark contrast with the paltry sum the farmers of Cumbum valley draw from open market sale in nearby mandis.
It also highlights how the community is being exploited by monopolistic practices of acquisition adopted by the local winery whose sole motive is furtherance of their profits. However, meeting highly stringent quality control norms is an accompanying challenge to the prospect of selling in foreign markets. Export is an idea that is yet to strike the farming community of Theni, and if they were to explore the avenues arising out of foreign trade, an opportunity would present itself to break out of the cycle of indebtedness.
"The Surulipatti Grape Growers Association presently has 500-600 members, and we are collectively fighting for our rights," he added. Farmers with medium and large land holdings are relatively better off and have easier access to regulated channels of finance capital.
But even those who are better off are having troubles repaying their loans due to crop failure. Even Saravanan, who is a third generation farmer, whose family has acquired considerable land over the years, is heavily indebted. The rising cost of production and low yield has caused many farmers to default.
“If there is crop failure, and I have taken a loan from the bank, there is no avenue of repayment unless you approach a moneylender to pay off the amount owed to the bank. It's a vicious cycle. So far, banks haven’t pressurized us, but if they do, there is no choice left, but to commit suicide,” said an aggrieved Tavashi.
Small farmers, on the other hand rely on local moneylenders who charge astronomical interest rates. The usurious lending practices have already claimed a casualty. There was one farmer suicide in 2016.
Political parties have contested elections with the poll promise of waiving the loans of farmers after coming to power but successive governments have turned a deaf ear to their plight after tasting electoral success.
“If banks are lenient, they’ll waive the penalty on defaulting but not the interest,” Mannnikam, a farmer who has defaulted on his loan for the past few installments. He added that in the past, his father and grandfather had no difficulty in being granted loans since the family had a stable financial record. However, the altered circumstances in the valley have meant that he is finding it increasingly difficult to repay and upkeep the spotless pecuniary legacy of his family.
Lower productivity has hampered the profit margin of farmers in the Cumbum valley. The growing disparity between the cost of production and the stagnating market price for the famed rose water grapes of Theni has compounded the woes of farmers.
Mannikam, whose family has been cultivating grapes for three generations now, said that produce was being sold at Rs.15 per kg for the past ten years, whereas the cost of labour has gone up from 100 rupees to 400 rupees for a day's work. Thus, the profit margin has shrunk to such a degree that today, most farmers are selling at a loss.
Moreover, inflation in the prices of pesticides and fertilizers has added to the ballooning cost of production. The fact that there has not been a proportional increase in the selling price has meant that it is the farmer who has to bear the financial brunt of this lopsided equation.
"The investment for grape cultivation is much higher than that for say, onions or chilies," said Saravanan. When asked why the farmers of the valley still continue cultivating grapes if it was indeed unprofitable, he explained that they did not know any other type of farming, and that recovery of losses was difficult.
“We have invested so much that it is impossible to start afresh with another crop. Wire meshes and trellis frames are expensive immovable assets that can’t be used for cultivating other crops. It is also a matter of tradition. Our lives depend on this,” Saravanan said, with an air of finality.
The investment on fertilizers and pesticides has increased exponentially. Initial investment in the range of a lakh and half is needed per acre. During the rainy season, the investment is twice as much since much of what is sprayed gets washed away in the rain.
The data provided by the 2015 round of the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) data reveals that there are many a slip between the cup and the mouth. The NHM is a centrally funded body tasked with making budgetary estimates in the agriculture sector. Allocation and disbursal of central funds falls under its gambit. However, the expenditure of individual states is the latter's prerogative.
For Tamil Nadu, a total of Rs.108 crore was allocated but only Rs.55.4 crore was released as per the union budget’s allocation for agriculture, under which the NHM falls. The remaining Rs.20.3 crore of the total expenditure of Rs.74.7 crore was borne by the state.
However, other states can be held guilty of not fully passing on central funds for schemes related to agriculture. Punjab spent only Rs.44.1 crore on agriculture while it received Rs.58.5 from the NHM. This leaves a deficit of Rs.14.4 crore which inadvertently implies that central funds meant for agriculture were diverted for other sectors, or worse, siphoned off from the system by administrators.
In Theni, farmers who can barely make ends meet rely on loans from banks to tide over their financial constraints while spending on chemical fertilizers and other items of production. "Banks don’t pressurize you till the duration of the loan is over. It is only after that, that they initiate proceedings to recoup their capital," said Mannikam, who is in the midst of a settlement with a nationalized bank which has a branch in Cumbum.
The state government has waived the loans of only 30 out of every 100 indebted farmers in the valley. It is usually members of co-operative societies who wear their political affiliation on their sleeves, who have been the major beneficiaries.
“Another criterion for a loan waiver is the requirement to hold land in excess of three to four acres. The government has completely erased us from the equation,” said Ponniah, a small farmer who cultivates on land leased from a merchant farmer.
Among the 600 odd members of the Surulipatti Grape Growers Association, 50-100 have extra land to lease out depending on their seasonal requirements. They are beneficiaries of the loan waiver scheme whereas their tenant farmers, who have to pay as much on fertilizers and other items, are ignored and left to fend for themselves.
Social and financial stratification within the Association taken away some bite from the common cause. The failure of the north-east monsoon has further burdened indebted farmers. Those who have been excluded from the loan waiver scheme of the government have begun resenting their more fortunate peers, and their bitterness is justifiably, not a case of sour grapes.
