Dhubri, June 4: Assam has to shell out a higher price for cashew grown on its own soil because lack of processing units ensures that the nut takes a detour before reaching the state’s markets.

Though Dhubri, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong and Kokrajhar have the perfect climate for cashew, the nuts feeding the handful of cashewnut processing units in the state are from the Garo Hills in neighbouring Meghalaya, thanks to a lack of initiative by the administration.

Dhubri, in particular, has seen a massive spurt in cashew cultivation in the past few years, but a major chunk of the produce gets transported outside the state for processing and then returns to Assam with a higher price tag.

Insurgency has forced a number of entrepreneurs to shut shop in Assam and shift to other states.

There are only 26 cashewnut processing units now, with 11 factories in Mancachar while 15 small cashewnut processing units funded by the Dhubri District Rural Development Agency dot the South Salmara-Mancachar subdivision.

This despite the fact that over the past 10 years, more and more farmers have taken up cashew cultivating, junking the traditional crops after suffering years of losses. Farmers are generally not involved in the processing (drum roasting or steam roasting). “Commission agents” transport the raw cashew to factories run by entrepreneurs.

Till 2001, cashew was cultivated only on 50 hectares in Assam. In 2010, the figure rose to 2,500 hectares.

In Dhubri alone, cashew is grown on around 600 hectares by 300 farmers.

Manjari, under Mancachar revenue circle of Dhubri district, is now being developed into a cashewnut model farming village, involving 30 groups, each comprising 10 farmers.

A cashewnut nursery has also been opened in the village to supply plants to the farmers. “I had planted cashewnuts six years ago on 26 bighas in my village Tangaon and the trees began to bear fruit after three years. I sell the entire raw produce to wholesalers at the rate of Rs 32 per kg,” said Ismail Hussain, a wealthy farmer.

There are three phases in cashewnut harvesting, which starts from mid-April and ends in mid-September, explained Hussain.

The president of Mancachar Cashew Nut Factory Owners’ Association, Dilip Kumar Patowari, said the cashewnut industry has the potential to wipe out unemployment altogether from the district, if the administration provides a little encouragement to entrepreneurs to set up processing units.

“Nearly 10,000 workers, mostly women, are engaged directly or indirectly with this industry and each worker earns between Rs 80 and Rs 100 per day depending on her volume of work,” Patowary said.

A manual labourer is paid Rs 9 for every kilo of cashew and a woman can process upto 8-10kg a day. A factory, on an average, processes 550kg of good quality cashew with help from 50 to 60 workers per day but this production could be doubled if the units are enlarged, he added.

“A few years ago, many entrepreneurs who opened small processing units had to close down and set up units in other states because of insurgency — problems which no one wants to bring to the notice of police,” a raw cashewnut trader said.

If 100 processing units could be set up, nearly one lakh workers could be employed in processing the produce from Dhubri and Garo Hills.

Dhubri district agriculture officer, Sachindra Pathak, said under its Technology Mission, efforts are being made to explore further potential of farming and trading in cashewnuts.

“Nearly 200 hectares have been brought under cashew cultivation and we are looking at more areas to introduce farming. We planted 1,000 trees per hectare four years ago and the trees have begun to bear fruit,” Pathak said.

If only the administration could coax entrepreneurs into the nut business!