“We Sangekars” to promote Betel Nut cultivation as a source of income for youth

SANGEUM: Social worker Mithil Ulhas Naique Dessai has urged the youth of Sangeum to take up betel nut cultivation as a source of income and not depend on the government to provide them jobs.

“I appeal to the youth to take up betel nut cultivation. It is a good source of income. Youth should not be dependent on government for jobs, they should become independent and self-sufficient,” Mithil said in a statement issued on Friday.

The social forum “We Sangekars” and Mithil have teamed up to provide facilities to the youth of Sangeum to take up betel nut farming.

Areca nut or betel nut is an extensively cultivated tropical palm the nuts of which form a popular masticatory in India, the Middle East, and Far East. India produces annually 150,000 tones of areca nut from an area of 18,34,000ha. It is a tall-stemmed erect palm, reaching varied heights, depending upon the environmental conditions. Palms attaining a height of 30 meters are not uncommon.

The altitude at which the areca nut palm can be successfully grown varies to some extent according, to the latitude of the place. Though it grows at altitudes up to 1,000 m above the sea level, at higher altitudes it is not at all productive. According to Mithil, the climate of the Sanguem taluka is conducive to betel nut cultivation and the produce is of good quality. “Even the soil is is right for betel nut. Our youth must take advantage of this fact and start cultivation to ensure a separate or parallel source of income,” he said.

According to Mithil, Areca thrives well in a variety of soils, the laterite soils of the West Coast, the red loamy soils in Tamil Nadu, the alluvial of Assam and West Bengal and also parts of Orissa. “The site should have adequate facilities for irrigation and should be deep and well drained, without a high-water table. We can provide all the expertise required to help youth groups to take up cultivation,” Mithil said.

“We can provide genetically superior planting-material for which mother-palms possessing characters of high heritability, correlated with high yield are identified and provided to those interested. The Centre for Promoting Indian Economy (CPIE India) has agreed to provide technical support for youth interested in taking up betel nut cultivation on a professional basis,” Mithil announced.