No mention of groundnut research unit in CM’s speech disappoints ryots

Anantapur: District farmers are disappointed that no mention was made by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the district on Thursday on his promise of establishing a groundnut research institute in the district which has groundnut cultivation in more than 10 lakh acres. For many educated farmers, a central research institute will be a welcome thing. The research institute was promised several times on several occasions by the Chief Minister but farmers are disappointed that he made no mention of it during his visit to the district.

Research is crucial for developing export quality variety in tune with international norms and fixed parameters, feels Thathi Reddy alias Bush Reddy of Marthadu village in Garladinne mandal. It may be recalled that Reddy had interacted with the then American President George Bush who visited Hyderabad during the tenure of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as Chief inister.Another educated farmer Jabez David, who did his PG in social work, opined during an interaction with The Hans India that the promise must be translated into action at the earliest and during the current tenure of Chandrababu as Chief Minister. If he fails to keep his promise, it would be a disservice to the farmers of the district.

High quality healthy seed should be developed apart from raising groundnut with organic manure and for expert quality chemical residues free nuts should be produced, he adds. If the district is placed on export map of the world, this district will no longer be poverty stricken anymore, he adds.Producing export quality nuts and in making value added products including peanut butter, juices, chocolate nuts and bars which are consumed by the western consumers due to their high protein value and taste, should be the goal of district planners and agriculture officers. The farmers presently are unable to rise up to international standards due to reasons beyond their control despite their district being popular in international circles by the strength of its cultivation in a largest acreage in a single geographical area.

Joint Director of Agriculture Srirama Murthy told The Hans India that for exporting peanuts to countries abroad, export quality seed need to be sown and the district being a rain-fed region is not fit for cultivating export-worthy variety groundnut. Only in assured irrigated conditions can such a crop be raised, he added. The groundnut or peanut crop as is known in the west has its roots in Brazil in South America. It is not an Indian plant species and much less of Telugu origin but interestingly the people of Anantapur district have owned the crop linking their destiny with the crop despite all the challenges of erratic monsoon being faced by the local farmers.

So much has the farmers destinies tied to it that the city is known world over as the ‘Groundnut City’. Anantapur district is the only district in the globe which grows groundnut as the principal crop and on as massive a scale as 10 lakh acres and about 7 lakh farmers and their families having stakes in it. Yet a district that is contributing significantly to national and world production does not have agro-industries for producing value added products including peanuts butter which is popular in the west. By virtue of acreage in one single place, it is the largest in the world and also in terms of acreage, India occupied number one position in the world although in terms of production USA and China occupies first and second position in the world.

According to Agriculture scientist John Sudheer who spoke to The Hans India the chord that binds the farmers of the district with groundnut is about 60 years old. About 45 years ago it used to be 80% cereals and 20% groundnut. Today, it is 80% groundnut and 20% other crops. The agricultural demography of the district has changed over the years with the farmers shifting from cultivation of cereals to groundnut.“The awareness and concern for quality amongst the Indian groundnut sellers and processors are growing steadily. Multiple sorting and grading are fast becoming a norm. Indian manufacturers have the capability to prepare and supply edible peanuts conforming to highest standards.

Apart from raw edible peanuts, India’s Blanched Peanuts, Roasted Salted Peanuts and Dry Roasted Peanuts and a variety of peanut based products are popular in the western market,” stated Roshan Lal, a groundnut trader from Bengaluru. The country has exported 7.8 lakh MT of groundnuts to the world for the worth of Rs 4,675 crore during the year 2014-15 and crossed its earlier figures in 2015-16 fiscal, he adds. Peanuts and peanut butter became an integral part of the Armed Forces rations in World Wars I and II. It is believed that the US army popularised the peanut butter and jelly sandwich for sustenance during maneuvers in World War II.

BY Ravi P Benjamin