Here’s How Shifting Weather Patterns Threaten A Sweet Legacy
Geeta Kini, a jamun cultivator, holds an umbrella to protect the produce from heavy rainfall. She says that previously, at least 50 women would sell jamuns by the roads. This year, there were very few of them, owing to a huge loss (Image by Rushikesh More)
Every summer, one sees the fresh, shining, deep purple jamuns appear in fruit markets across Maharashtra. This fruit, with its sweet-and-sour taste, has global demand. India is one of the highest producers of jamuns, with Maharashtra on top of the list of jamun-producing states in the country.
“You see these jamun trees? They are as old as 1885 and date back to the time of our ancestors,” says Prakash Kini, pointing to the trees. Kini is a jamun cultivator from Bahadoli, a village in the Palghar tehsil of Maharashtra’s Thane district. Bahadoli is also popularly known as Jambhulgaon, or the village of jamun trees. It is a prosperous village with old, giant jamun (Syzygium cumini) trees at every other corner.
Prabhakar Patil, another jamun cultivator, has witnessed many seasons and seasonal changes in this village. “You see this tree? It was planted by my great grandfather,” he says, while walking up to the tree. “It has been here since his time. And this is not unique. You will see many such trees planted by our ancestors in this village.
Bahadoli is spread over 297 hectares, of which 106 hectares is arable land where mango, tamarind, and a large quantity of jamun is grown.
Located at the confluence of the Surya and Vaitarana rivers, Bahadoli is known for its fertile alluvial soil, which contributes to the excellent quality of its produce. Bahadoli jamuns are bigger in size and known to be sweeter in taste, with smaller seeds and more pulp with each fruit. They are known to be rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
Most farmers here cultivate jamun which takes about five to six years to begin fruiting. They depend on it for their annual income. Summers see recording-breaking yields of jamun and farmers regularly reap huge profits.
Last year, however, the late flowering of the fruit, caused by heavy rainfall, left cultivators and local residents worried and concerned about the upcoming season.
“We [women] pluck the fruits and try selling it here by the street side,” says Pramilabai, while standing on the narrow tar road near Bahadoli, when we visited her last monsoon. She holds a giant umbrella in her hand, protecting her jamun stock from the heavy showers. “The heavy rains prevent us from plucking too many jamuns. We then do it in small batches and come here to sell them. The passers-by usually buy these.” She says that things have been difficult for the village residents this year (2024).
She further says, “We plucked jamuns around summer of 2023. But this time (2024), they directly came in the monsoon, and we had to face heavy losses.” The late flowering of the fruit has made many, along with Pramilabai, worried.
The village of jamuns
It is said that the abundance of jamun trees gave the large landmass of the Indian subcontinent its ancient name – Jambudweep. Jambu means jamun and dweep means land in Sanskrit, translating to ‘a land of jamuns’.
The Bahadoli jamuns, in particular, are special. In 2023, jamuns of Bahadoli, along with those from the neighbouring villages of Khamloli, Dhuktan and Pochade, received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a sign used on products which have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. The GI tag helps these products get global recognition.
The jamun trees in Bahadoli typically bear fruit in summer, following the traditional farming pattern for this crop. The fertile alluvial soil, due to the rivers, contributes to the quality of its produce.
These jamuns are higher in demand, in comparison to other jamuns. Therefore, the impact of the changing weather on its yield, is worrisome.
Prabhakar Patil expresses happiness and contentment with the trees he has nurtured for many years, which are now providing a livelihood. “We used to walk to the Vasai railway station back in the day and sell these jamuns,” he says. “Now we have a road, so we also sell it by the roadside.”
The Bahadoli jamun was well known in the surrounding area, but it never had national recognition earlier. The demand for this variety was mainly at the local level. “For several generations, my family has been in the business of jamuns,” says Mandar Patil, another jamun cultivator. “The trees you see in our land today were planted even before I was born.”
Mandar was talking to us in his farm, cleaning and packing jamuns into boxes all along. “The special features of our jamuns were quite well known,” he says. “Once, a few officials from the state agricultural department approached us with an idea of organising an exhibition for these jamuns. We had hosted our first exhibition in 2004. This slowly made many people aware of the Bahadoli jamuns and we now have the GI tag.”
Getting the GI tag
As the farmers of Bahadoli began to realise that the jamun growing here is special and can get them a good income, more farmers got into jamun plantation. They planted jamun saplings in their paddy fields, too. Today, many of these saplings have now grown into giant trees. The support of the agricultural department ensured increased productivity and was instrumental in applying for a GI tag. The farmers in the village thus established a jamun producers’ group.
Kini, the chairman of this group, tells us that the group held multiple meetings, supported by the department of agriculture. “We examined the quality of jamuns and analysed why they specifically grew in this region,” he says. “We also got the soil examined and researched about what the fruit contains. The scientists from the Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, an agriculture university in Dapoli, established that these jamuns, including the powder of their skin, could help in treating diabetes.”
In addition, the agricultural department organised multiple training programmes in Bahadoli village, to encourage local farmers to ‘sow what sells’. The scientists from the Konkan agricultural university held public meetings and provided guidance in the quest of obtaining healthy and tasty jamun fruits.
“We had applied for the GI tag for Bahadoli jamuns in 2022,” Jagdish Patil from the Department of Agriculture, Maharashtra, told us. “And then, we received the GI tag on September 5, 2023.”
Heavy rains prevent jamun picking
Most farmers in and around Bahadoli have planted jamun. Other than jamun, their usual crop is paddy. However, we saw more jamun fruits rotting in the mud than intact on the tree, when we visited last monsoon. Glancing at those fruits, Mandar says, “This is all due to the rains. Our usual season is summer. But this year…” he trails off.
Over the years, the villagers have expanded the jamun plantation, in order to maximise profits. We saw several of them, mostly women, selling jamuns by the street. Some had packed them in boxes, some were carrying them in baskets. All of them eyeing potential customers.
Geeta Kini, one amongst these many women, spoke to us. “Our jamuns are very famous and in demand,” she says. “Every year, you will see at least 50 of us [women] selling jamuns by the streetside. However, this year, there are very few of us, because we lost a lot of our crop.”
Rohini, sitting next to her, continues, “You see, the monsoon coincided this year with the jamun flowering season,” she says. “So, we could not go to pluck the jamuns since it was always raining heavy. Plus, the rains resulted in a lot of jamuns falling off the tree.”
All the streetside jamun vendors we spoke to, echoed the same sentiment: there was not enough jamun to begin with.
Kini elaborated on this while showing us the jamuns in a basket: “Till about three years ago, all the jamun trees would bear fruits by April,” he says. “The season then got delayed and the fruits started coming in May. Then it went to June last year (2023) and this year (2024), we are seeing the fruits in July. But, this also means that jamuns coincided with heavy monsoon showers. This has caused almost 90 percent of our usual produce to go to waste. Whatever little is left, we are plucking and selling it.”
As rains begin, demand for jamun decreases
Every year, Bahadoli and the neighbouring villages of Khamloli, Dhuktan and Pochade get a record-breaking quantity of produce for jamuns. “A single tree can earn you minimum Rs. 5,000 all the way up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs,” says Mandar. “If jamuns follow the original schedule, the initial rate per kg is as high as Rs. 1,000 to 1,200. But now, the rate has fallen to Rs. 200 to 300.”
The local farmers say that once the rains begin, the demand for the fruit gradually decreases. Customers, apprehensive of worms within the fruit, usually do not buy jamuns once rains start. “But this year, the jamun season has begun amidst the rains. What do we do now?” asks Prabhavati Patil, a resident of the village.
She adds that while paddy fields and other vegetables being grown act as their other source of income, “the money required to even buy these seeds, and other processes comes from our jamun trade. This year, since we did not break even, our entire planning is disrupted.”
Manoj Gupta is a jamun trader and talks about the delayed jamun season this year. “Compared to 100 kg every year, this year we only got 20 kg produce,” he adds. “Every year, we get jamuns in May. This year, they came by the end of June, and many had been exposed to water, thus ruining their taste.”
While jamuns from other places come to the market too, the Bahadoli jamuns are highest in demand.
What’s next for these jamuns?
Sangeeta, who sells jamuns at the Vasai railway station told us that her business does not run well anymore. “Now, our produce [that we buy] is more expensive, and the quantity is also low,” she says.
“It is these incessant rains that caused all the fruits to drop. Because the produce is so low, it is offered at an expensive rate. I cannot buy it and there is not much margin there anyway.”
In 2021, when cyclone Tauktae hit the west coast of India, it severely impacted the jamun trees with over 100 of them being uprooted. The local cultivators had to endure losses and had received substantial help from the authorities. However, three years later, they seem to have faced a similar loss this season.
“We are consulting the scientists of the Konkan Agricultural University, and are definitely going to strive to reduce the losses for the next season,” says Jagdish from the Department of Agriculture, Maharashtra. “We are also offering all the resources required to ensure that the quality and the shelf life of jamun goes up. There are also efforts being taken at the government level to facilitate crop insurance for jamuns.”
Right after an increase in demand due to the GI tag, such a severe drop in the supply is unfortunate. “This year, the farmers suffered due to the unseasonal rains, as well as an increase in median temperature,” he adds. “Getting the trees to flower in the right season should be the focus. We have been told that a specific usage of micro nutrients will benefit the plants and reduce the losses. We plan to seek the university’s guidance in this.”
Jamuns have a distinct economy. When the demand is increasing every year, reduction in supply like this year is a worrisome situation, especially for the cultivators and local people who rely on jamun sales. This also requires a wider dialogue about possible solutions. Climate change is affecting all areas of life, so a sustainable solution needs to be crafted after considering all factors.
(Published under Creative Commons from Mongabay India. Read the original article here)
