Mr Ramesh Chaurasia wants to empower the farmers and help them beat the challenges faced by them so that they can get better yield and returns.

UDUPI, KARNATAKA, INDIA, March 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Mr Ramesh Lakhulal Chaurasia, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha, has started to bring new reforms in traditional betel farming methods. A lot of things are finally changing for the betel farming community.

Since people from the Chaurasia community have been engaged with betel farming and trading from ancient times, many are still involved in betel trade. Among the community, there are also marginal farmers who do not own large farm lands and are facing multiple issues in betel farming.

“Farmers are the backbone of our society; they are the ones who work hard to produce what we consume every day. With combined efforts, we can help them rise and prosper.” – Ramesh Chaurasia

These issues are being solved by the constant efforts of Mr Ramesh Chaurasia, who helps organize seminars, workshops and training sessions related to betel farming and how to get the best out of it for the farmers.

“Betel leaves were once called green gold and growing them was a very lucrative trade. However, due to various factors like change in rainfall patterns, decreased demand, rising temperatures and depleting soil quality, betel farmers are not able to even make ends meet. Many betel farmers have left the practice and generational farming is declining rapidly,” says Mr Chaurasia.

Mr Chaurasia wants to empower the farmers and help them beat the challenges faced by them so that they can get better yield and returns. Great attention is paid towards multi-layer farming as a solution for marginalized farmers. Since multi-layer betel farming takes less space, farmers with small pieces of land can utilize it and grow multiple cash crops on the same land. This method is also very ecologically sustainable and uses less water.

The issue of wastage
Betel leaves are fragile and prone to decay during storage and transport. As a result, a large portion of betel leaves are spoiled or wasted which are ultimately discarded. This comes as a huge loss to the farmers, which can sometimes be 20%. Farmers observe that the demand for leaves falls during the rainy season and thus a lot of produce is unsold. Most of these leaves eventually decay unless stores in the right facilities. Experts suggest the farmers to minimize the waste by drying the leaves using various techniques to preserve. With better storage, chemical treatments and temperature manipulation, the leaves can be dried and stored.

How to turn waste into gold – Innovation helps
Another way to reduce wastage is to use the unsold leaves for essential oil extraction. There is an excellent option to use devices like the “Betel leaf oil extractor” designed at IIT Kharagpur which can be used for essential oil extraction from fresh, stale, or even partially decayed leaves.

An expert botanist suggests, “This oil can be a very good source of income for betel farmers because this oil has very special properties which allow it to be used as a raw material in various products like cosmetics, candies, tooth paste, pan masala, appetizers, digestive products, fragrant products and more. Farmers should be exposed to such new techniques which can enable them to turn wastage into revenue.”

Mr Ramesh Chaurasia and his team leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding new ways to help marginal farmers. Often lacking education and guidance, these farmers resort to mostly hard work since betel farming is a pretty labour-intensive job. However, the goal is to maximize revenue so that everyone from the community can earn a decent amount of money, which will ultimately sustain the tradition of betel trade and farming.

“Betel farming is a tradition which has given an identity to the Chaurasia community, the farmers who are its foundation should not be left behind.”- says Mr Chaurasia.

The organization believes that youth from the community should also find it lucrative to be involved in betel trade and farming. With the help of experts and entrepreneurs, new ways are found to maximize cultivation and to reduce wastage with eco-friendly practices. Farmers are also taught about finances and loans so that they are not fooled by anyone trying give them loans at unreasonable rates.

Sonya Chaurasia
Chaurasia News Service
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