The areca nut farmers of Tripura and Mizoram are facing difficulties in transporting and selling their produce in the Northeastern States.
One of the prime reasons affecting the sales of areca nut is the rampant smuggling of the product from the Fâr Eastern countries – Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar etc – into the Northeastern States.
For the farmers of Tripura and Mizoram, areca nut is an important cash crop which is considered as ‘green gold’.
However, farmers are staring at big losses as selling the product has dropped alarmingly. Farmers complained that a good amount of areca nut became spoiled and dumped as waste.
Notably, areca nut growers held several agitations highlighting their plights. However, the situation remained grim as no effective steps were taken by the concerned departments to address the issues hampering the area nut trading, alleged farmers.
The concerned farmers alleged, areca nut cultivation is facing danger due to inaction and lack of concern of the Tripura, Mizoram and Assam governments.
Notably, while Tripura and Mizoram farmers are producing areca nuts, traders are using Assam for buying and selling the product.
With the farmers of Tripura and Mizoram in a dire situation, an eminent citizen of Jampui Hill, Dr Zairemthiama Pachuau sought the help of the Prime Minister and urged the Chief Ministers of all the three States to intervene to end the crisis without any further delay, areca nut growers said.
