Shrinking pepper farms, output to make Kerala a minor player

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Kochi: Kerala may soon have to relinquish its role as the home of pepper as shrinking pepper plantations and declining share of the global pepper trade make it a marginal player. Long-term outlook for pepper production looks bleak as figures reveal that farming area and productivity are on the decline in Kerala.

The return on investment on pepper has been declining rapidly with farmers losing heavily in the process. Kerala is known to produce bulk of the pepper grown in the nation with Wayanad accounting for major share. Erratic climate and volatile fluctuation in prices have led to a decline in crop management leading to a drop in production, sources at the state agricultural department told FE.

Farming area has not shown an increase in Kerala for the past six years because of the declining prices. In fact, in some places, there is a decline in pepper farming with farmers, who are losing interest on the crop.

From the data for the year 2004-05, when the area under pepper cultivation in Wayanad district decreased to 41573 hectare, and for the year 2005-06 when it further decreased to 41464 hectare, it is obvious that the heavily affected marginal and small growers have given up pepper cultivation.

According to figures made available by the Kerala State Farmers' Debt Relief Commission, the pepper growers have lost heavily in the last five years and are in debts. The estimates of cost of production and realization for a hectare for the last few years reveal that farmers have lost 80-87% of their investment.

Disease and drought have wrecked the farmers with production and productivity dropping to alarming levels. Almost two thirds of the vines are unproductive and farmers are not inclined to re-planting given the volatility in prices. Productivity of pepper is down to less than 277 kg per hectare for the year 2006-07 as against 334 kg per hectare during 2005-06.

Pepper farms in Idukki, another major centre of production, have been spared from major diseases, but the lower realization from the crop has affected the sentiments.

The return on investment has affected the pepper farmers and they are not keen to investing in the crop even as an inter-crop.