The pungent aroma of pepper no longer floats in Wayanads Pulpally village once the largest producer of the famous Malabar Garbled and Tellichery Bold varieties in Kerala. Battered by the quick wilt disease of pepper vines,wasp attacks,market price crash and recurring dry spells over the years,the cultivators of the erstwhile spice kingdom have almost bid adieu to the spice. In the early 90s,the village had significantly helped Wayanad account for half of the countrys annual production with an output of 40,000 tonnes. Now as the state is debating the impact of the ASEAN free trade agreement on pepper among other crops,Pulpally,whose economy once flourished due to the black gold,remains unstirred over the impending duty cut on imports. The wisened farmers have rather worked out their own survival strategies. Farmers here were not seen reacting to the media reports on the free trade pact that the country has signed with ASEAN. They have their own ways to survive. Those who are continuing with pepper farming have adopted multi-crop system and short-term crops, said P K Omanakuttan,a hill produce trader. Pulpally had hit the headlines nearly two decades ago when it built its economy on pepper. Bumper harvest and dream prices rewrote its fortune. The decline started from the mid-1990s,when the quick wilt disease engulfed the pepper gardens of Wayanad. Revival strategies failed. The plummeting price of the spice and climatic changes wreaked havoc. The situation was more grave in Pulpally,as the region followed a mono-crop pattern. The final blow to the farmers was the wasp attack on the standards on which the pepper vines grow. An entire generation of Ervthrina indicus (known as murukku tree in Kerala),largely used as standards,collapsed in the wasp attack something that still puzzles agri-researchers. Besides,silver oak,another standard,also fell prey to fungal attacks. Amid the crisis,Pulpally had recorded the highest number of debt-driven suicides in the district,one of the suicide zones in the country. The banks in the panchayat wrote off bad loans worth Rs 25 crore last year,with the Pulpally Co-operative Bank leading with a waived amount of Rs 10 crore. SURVIVAL The farmers soon shifted to growing other crops,especially rubber. And to cushion the shocks of a mono-crop pattern,they even tried their hands at ginger,banana and tapioca. The statistics with the agricultural office at Pulpally clearly show how fast has the village drifted from pepper to embrace lucrative crops. In 2003-04,the village had 4,360 hectares under pepper cultivation. In 2008-09,its area dwindled to 3,500 hectares. The figure would be much less in this fiscal with pepper gardens fast making way for rubber. From 300 hectares in 2003-04,the area under rubber cultivation touched 700 hectares last fiscal, Despite the poor latex yield in this region,which is geographically part of the Deccan Plateau (Mysore region) of Karnataka,farmers have invested hugely in rubber due to current high returns. The crisis induced by pepper devastation also forced youths to move to job market. A decade ago,even the educated youths of Pulpally could afford to sit idle. The crop loss served as a wake-up call. Rising to the occasion,the local public library began conducting special coaching for recruitments in the state public service commission. In the last three years,around 40 people from Pulpally panchayat got government jobs with the help of the coaching centre. In the latest list of sub-inspectors of the state police,five youths from the region were recruited, said N P Babu,the library secretary. The diary sector,too,was explored. In 2004,the Pulpally Milk Co-Operative Society collected 6,900 litres of milk a day. This year,its daily production has touched 13,000 litres. When pepper destroyed their dreams,farmers immediately took to cattle rearing. The society stepped in by bringing in hybrid animals and constructing a chilling plant. The 1270-strong milk producers listed with the society make a cumulative income of Rs 50 lakh a month, said society secretary C T Paulose. NO GOING BACK With the memories of massive crop destruction still lingering on their minds,Pulpally cultivators are little enthused with the pepper rejuvenation plan of the Centre and the state governments. The labour cost has gone up. Even the available force had been diverted into non-productive areas under the NREG Scheme. Besides,the productivity has also come down. A moderate estimate showed that during the days of prosperity in the 90s,45 quintals of pepper could be produced in one hectare. Now,the per hectare production is only between eight to ten quintals. Farmers are unwilling to take the risk for the sake of continuing the pepper story, said N C Thankachan,secretary with the Pulpally Co-operative Bank. The rejuvenation scheme has two components financial aid and fertilizer-cum-pesticide offer. The agriculture department has set a target of 350 hectares for pepper rejuventation at Pulpally. Farmers are eager to take the project money to meet their consumption requirements,but they are least interested in the fertilizer component of the scheme. How do we implement the scheme now? official sources said. Nobody wants to experiment with pepper for a second time. Our first plantation lasted 15 years. If the situation continues thus,we might have to import pepper for domestic consumption, said N V Wilson,a farmer. Wilson,too,has lost his pepper cultivation to fungal attacks.
