Kolkata: With the Agricultural Marketing department all set to bring parity in the auction of betel leaf by fixing the number in a single ‘guchi’ (collection of betel leaf) from October 1, about 3 lakh farmers associated with its cultivation will be benefitted by the move.
“A collection of 50 betel leaves will now be considered as a ‘guchi’ in all wholesale markets in the state while the stockists procuring these will be entitled to a uniform commission of nine per cent. Farmers selling betel leaves will get the same price across the state and will not be deprived,” said Becharam Manna, Agricultural Marketing minister. The farmers were being deprived of their rightful price due to such disparity in the commission. The minister said that a special task force comprising officials from his department has been formed which will monitor whether things are being implemented properly. Betel leaf is cultivated in some 17 odd districts in the state but the majority of the production takes place at Tamluk in East Midnapore and Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas.
In Kakdwip, there are eight wholesale markets of betel leaf located in three blocks. For normal betel leaf, the ‘guchi’ presently varies from 150-299 while in case of sweet betel leaf it varies from 250-300. The stockists used to collect nine per cent as commission from farmers for sale.
There are 17 wholesale markets in East Midnapore where 80-120 are treated as one guchi for normal leaf and 250-300 for sweet betel leaf. In markets such as in Ramnagar, 50 leaves form a guchi. A commission of nine per cent is charged by stockists.