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Journalism of Courage
Come litchi season this summer,the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be ready with the customary packets of the fruit for the President and Prime Minister. Litchis,often touted as the speciality of the state,have been playing their part in diplomacy.
However,the importance attached to it seems to end with this symbolic gesture. Neither the state Government nor the Central ministers from Bihar seem to be interested in exploiting the fruits potential for export or expand sales to other parts of the country.
Bihar has given the country many a Railway Minister,right from Ram Vilas Paswan to Lalu Prasad Yadav. They all spoke of providing special air-conditioned bogies to take litchis from Bihar to the metros but did not follow up on the assurances leading to a situation where certain fresh vegetables and fruit chains sold litchis for a prohibitive Rs 120-150 per kg while farmers at Muzaffarpur could procure them for a mere Rs 15-20 per kg.
The production and export of litchis has been dipping for the last four years though of the varieties,Shahi and China,the former has been more in demand due to its aroma and rich pulp.
This year,only 50,000 tonnes of litchis have been sent out of Bihar so far as against 1.5 to 2 lakh tonnes three years ago. Muzaffarpur has produced only 1 lakh tonnes of litchis 25 per cent of its usual production because of heavy temperature fluctuation during the litchi farming season between January and May. Litchi is grown on about 28,000 hectares in Bihar along the banks of the Burhi Gandak and Muzaffarpur has been the leading producer. Shahi litchi,also used for making litchi essence,is used by processing units to make litchi pulp and is exported mainly to Nepal.
Litchi farmer Bholanath Jha told The Indian Express: Litchi is plucked at 42 degree Celsius temperature. It cannot be packed like other fruits. It needs to be transported at 2-4 degree or else it will rot within 72 hours. Jha said litchi farmers had long been demanding a common facility centre with air-conditioned vans,storage and treatment service.
Even if the state Government gives a 50 per cent grant on transportation through a cold chain from Bihar to the metros,the inter-state litchi trade would turn in huge profits for the farmers.
National Litchi Research Centres scientist Rajesh Kumar added that inappropriate management of litchi gardens,adverse climatic conditions and untimely fall of fruits caused low production.
The dissatisfaction with the Government on the part of the litchi farmers stems from their inability to exploit the huge export potential of the fruit. Litchi fetches a fancy price in the export markets in both fresh and processed form. Pankaj Kumar,a Muzaffarpur litchi farmer said: Bihar can figure among the big exporters only if the government encourages us. Bihar Government officials,however,said it was not possible to provide a cold chain facility from Bihar to Delhi and Mumbai. A senior official in the Agriculture Department said: The Government has been considering storage centres. It may also take up the matter with the new Railway Minister to provide air-conditioned bogies for litchi export.
