National

No Longer A Golden Crop

Mustard-producing villages in Rajasthan are badly hit by the ban

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No Longer A Golden Crop
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A hot humid September day—the first navratra—in Raibka village, seven km from Alwar in Rajasthan. On this day every year, the 650-odd villagers take to the fields and begin sowing the mustard seed that makes up 80 per cent of the village's crop. It's a lot like most hamlets in Rajasthan, which accounts for 40 per cent or 22 lakh tonnes of the country's total mustard produce. "Mustard is like gold for us," says Habla, a labourer. Today, however, they're lazing around on charpoys. "We've had heavy rains for the last two days, and once the soil dries, we'll have to plough our fields all over again, before we begin sowing," says Cha-hat Khan, who has five bighas of land.

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Raibka is relieved that they've had to delay sowing the crop. It's given them time to ponder over the crucial decision the village will take this year: whether to sow mustard or not, if yes, how much. "Man mein bhay hai (there's fear in our hearts). I am scared to grow mustard. What if the ban stays in force till February (harvest time)? Or, if dropsy resurfaces? And even if the ban is removed, how much time will it take people to get over their fear of mustard oil?" asks Aas Mohammad, Raibka's most prosperous farmer, with fields spread over 250 bighas. He usually plants mustard in 150 bighas, which gives him a revenue of Rs 4-5 lakh every year. This time, he thinks he won't devote more than 80 bighas to mustard. For the rest of the land, he believes gram will be a far safer bet.

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Aas Mohammad is lucky. He has enough land to hedge his bets. Others don't have a choice. "Mustard is our traditional crop, and that's what we'll grow. The risk will have to be taken," says Chahat Khan. As always, he expects to cultivate mustard in around 70 per cent of his fields. "Besides," adds Mohammad, "gram is a far riskier crop. Productivity is low, it needs more water, and it's susceptible to pests." He estimates next year's mustard harvest to be about 40 per cent less than normal.

Yet the farmers still thank their lucky stars. "What if the epidemic had taken place any time between January and March, when the mustard crop was to be harvested? No one would have bought our mustard," says Suban Khan, a resident of neighbouring Bharatpur district.

But that means the oil traders have taken a serious hit. Take Niranjanlal Datta. He's president of the Rajasthan Oil Industries Association, and chairman of the Rs 125-crore Vijay Solvex Ltd, which manufactures the notorious Scooter brand—among the first to be banned. Prior to the ban, Datta used to sell Rs 10 lakh worth of oil every day. "My mills have been shut for nearly a month now," he says. That's a straight loss of Rs 3 crore. Datta also sells around Rs 11 crore of Scooter brand vanaspati every month. "The ban on Scooter oil has affected the sales of Scooter vanaspati, and has dealt the Scooter brand a severe blow. I don't know if it can ever recover," says he.

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But more than the monetary losses, Datta is flummo-xed as to why his brand was banned at all. In the test conducted by the Delhi government under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, the sample tested negative for argemone. Though, it had an excess of polybromide. "If the oil didn't have argemone, why did the Delhi government say they are banning it to prevent dropsy?" he asks.

Aas Mohammad, for one, can't fathom why argemone would be added. "There's hardly any argemone available. So it's impossible to increase the weight of the oil by adding argemone," he says.

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"The entire industry has come to a standstill," says N.R. Singhal, chief executive officer, Regional Oil Seeds Growers Cooperative Union. Now, with the Delhi and West Bengal governments allowing the sale of packaged mustard oil, the industry is hoping that things return to normal.

But as always, the smaller players continue to bear the maximum impact. Says Datta: "Only 250 mills in Rajasthan have packaging facilities. That means the rest still can't sell. Some of them believe they'll have to shut shop for good." For the farmers in Raibka, that's another cause to sow gram instead.

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