A CORRESPONDENT
BOKAKHAT: From just the small areas of Choguri, Sohola, and Moriya Hola in Agriculture Minister Atul Bora’s home constituency, pumpkins worth over Rs 20 crore are being sent outside Assam this year. Last year, the total was Rs 6 crore. Although the target for this year was set at Rs 12 crore, exports have exceeded expectations. These pumpkins are going not just to West Bengal and Odisha, but also to Nepal.
Already, over 100 trucks each carrying 25–30 tons of pumpkins have left the region, and at least another 200 trucks are expected to go out. Last year, farmers got a price of Rs 6 to Rs 7.50 per kilogram. Motivated by this, over a thousand farmers switched from mustard to pumpkin cultivation on a large scale this year.
Although the earlier estimate was Rs 12 crore in pumpkin exports, local farmers believe the figure has now crossed Rs 20 crore. This isn’t due to a price increase, but due to increased production thanks to expanded cultivation. While farmers have successfully taken control of the fields, aligning with the slogan ‘Our Fields, Our Market,’ they have failed to gain control of the market.
Now, in the very home constituency of the Agriculture Minister, farmers are in distress. Traders from lower Assam are dominating the market, offering low prices between Rs 3.30 and Rs 4.50 per kg and rejecting pumpkins smaller than a certain size, leading to wastage right in the fields.
If the Assam Government had declared a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pumpkins, farmers would have received a fair price. According to local farmers, as pumpkins are being processed in other states before sale, similar processing facilities should be set up in Assam, especially in Bokakhat. Pumpkins are not only consumed as vegetables, but their skin, flesh, and seeds are separated and processed in specialized industries. Pumpkin seeds, in particular, have a niche market due to their medicinal qualities. They are known to help with blood pressure and diabetes, among other benefits. After extraction, drying, and scientific packaging, the seeds are sold in markets outside Assam.
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