Bhiva P Parab | NT Staff Reporter
PANAJI: Pepper farmers in Goa have a reason to smile, as there is an increase in the production of the crop. With the climatic conditions in Goa being suitable for cultivation of pepper, farmers have been going in for cultivation of the crop on a commercial basis.
As a result, land under pepper cultivation has also increased from 721 hectares in the year 2012-13 to 764 hectares in 2014-15. The production of pepper has gone up from 231 tonnes in 2012-13 to 244 tonnes in 2014-15.
Pepper is a flowering vine, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Pepper has a good market and farmers mostly cultivate it as an intercrop. Pepper is cultivated by farmers on lands where areca nut plantations are undertaken or in ‘kulagars.’ This crop, which has a good demand, brings in additional revenue for the farmers.
Pepper is consumed throughout the world and India is a major exporter of the spice. There is also a long-established tradition of commercial cultivation of the crop by smallholders. Even during the Portuguese rule in Goa, pepper was traded. According to sources, pepper has a good market in the state.
Cultivation of pepper is mainly undertaken after monsoon as heavy rain showers may spoil the crop. Harvesting of pepper is usually carried out in the months of December and January when the pods turn yellowish pink in colour. According to sources, to obtain black pepper, fruiting spikes are harvested when the fruits are fully grown but still green in colour and shiny. The fruit spikes are left overnight in heaps for brief fermentation and the next morning, the mass of spikes is spread to dry in the sun for about 4 to 5 days.
Farmers owning ‘kulagars’ with big trees can utilise the space between these trees by planting various spice plantations including pepper, which could be cultivated as intercrop. These plantations grow under the shade of the big trees with little sunlight passing through the canopy. The intercrop plantations also do not need a separate arrangement for watering as they utilise the same water irrigated to the big trees.