By KD Momin
Pabren Shira is among the many banana growers in North Garo Hills who would sell their produce in nearby Assam markets at a throwaway price till the middle of last year. Now, they sell the fruits at an optimum price thanks to Gairong Area Banana Growers Association (GABGA) that was formed in March last year. Kharkutta MLA Rupert Momin had flagged off the first consignment of bananas on June 27 last year.
With eight members in the core team, the association works with 2,000 planters in the district. Most of GABGA members are also farmers, either banana, areca nut or paddy growers.
The association is headed by Bojan Marak and its secretary is Walingbrush Sangma. Both of them are banana growers.
“The idea to form the association came when we realised that banana growers were not getting the right price for their hard work. Now, we send bananas to other states like West Bengal and Bihar,” said Demeor T Sangma, a government employee who is an executive member and accountant.
Chini Champa, one of the finest varieties of banana, is produced in this part of the state.
Earlier, growers would sell bananas for Rs 50-80. There was also the problem of middlemen who ate into the planters’ profits. With the formation of the association, farmers get Rs 100-150 for a bunch.
GABGA was facilitated by the Meghalaya Basin Development unit under Meghalaya Livelihoods and Access to Markets Project.
The association, which at present markets local bananas to Kolkata and Gaya, sends one truck a week, which comes to four consignments a month. Each truck can carry over 1,000 bunches of bananas.
“The quality of banana produced here is good. The price is decided based on the size of bunches. Of course, bigger bunches fetch higher price. But the bananas in small bunches are equally good,” said Demeor.
The members said the manager of the Integrated Basin Development Livelihood Promotion in Resubelpara connected the association with merchants in Bihar’s Gaya. They communicate with the buyers through WhatsApp, telephone or email.
“The buyers deposit money in the joint bank account of the president and the secretary (of the association) and they send their trucks to Gairong. Sometimes they collect 1,300-1,500 bunches from East and North Garo Hills,” said Walingbrush.
The association earns around Rs 5,000 from each truck and over Rs 1 lakh a month. The money is distributed among the planters according to the supply.
Hundreds of planters gather at the association’s office at Gairong on days when the truck comes to collect bananas. All the growers whom Sunday Shillong spoke to said they are finally getting the right price for the fruits and things have changed for good.
“Farmers here use purely natural manure in the virgin soil of the hillside. The Chini Champa variety is spoiled when inorganic manure is used,” said Walingbrush when asked about the speciality of the bananas marketed from Gairong.
Planters come from hundreds of villages under Gairong and the adjacent areas — Rongmil, Rongjeng, Songsak, Wadro, Wakok, Dainadubi, Mendipathar, Damas, Resubelpara, Bajengdoba, Gokol, Rari, Dagal, Nangapa, Darenchi and Jambal.
The members of the association have to go through several rounds of training under the Basin Development, Horticultural Department, industrial training in marketing raw materials and training by officials in the local branches of Meghalaya Co-operative Apex Bank and State Bank of India.
When asked about the land cover of banana plantation in the areas, Bojan said it is scattered on the hillside “but one person plants over 3-10 bighas according to his (economic) condition and time”.
Forty-seven-year-old Pabren Shira, who is growing bananas since 1990, used to go to Daranggiri market in Assam’s Goalpara district twice or thrice a week. “We used to transport the produce either in a pull cart or on a bicycle to get only Rs 50 a bunch,” said the banana grower.
Daranggiri is Asia’s biggest market for bananas.
Now, Shira supplies 500-1,000 bunches of bananas a month to other states at a much higher price. He sells most of the produce except the small bunches, which are kept for personal consumption.
Aftab Alam, the owner of Aftab Fruit Agency in Gaya, said he has been buying bananas from Garo Hills for years now. “The demand for this variety of bananas is mainly in monsoon. They fetch a minimum price of Rs 50 and the maximum is Rs 300. One truck from Garo Hills comes every week. The bananas are of good quality,” said Alam.
A survey conducted last year showed growers who earned Rs 5,000-7,000 a month would earn as much as Rs 18,000 through the association.
Shira is currently focusing on increasing production and bettering quality of the produce.
“This is my love towards dear farmers who were exploited by middlemen. Now the farmers can sell their products in actual price through GABGA” said Kharkutta MLA Momin.
The association’s first anniversary was last month and its members are planning for a better future. They want to set up a cold storage and a processing plant. “We can take loan and set the units up. The state or the central government can also fund,” said Bojan.
The MLA said the government is already planning to set up a fruit preservation centre at Sambrak and later a cold storage unit for bananas. The state government is looking forward to improving the livelihood of farmers by bringing in different projects, he added.
The members have also thought about export in the long run and want the Centre to issue permission for International Trade and Commerce.
But before they embark on a long-term plan of action, the members have to go through several hurdles, the most important being fund. The members say though they were trained by government agencies, no fund has come from them. “Another problem that we face at times is that growers sometimes are reluctant to sell the produce to us saying the price is not good. But we are trying to spread awareness,” said Demeor.
(With inputs from Nabamita Mitra)
Photos by KD Momin