General Profile of the Village

Bilkhawthlir is a village of 1100 houses divided into two village councils: Bilkhawthlir North & South. Three-fourth of the families depend on arecanut (Areca catechu L.) as their source of income. The income generated by arecanut in 2021 was more than 800 lakhs. The village community has an association of arecanut growers and a Self-Help Group functioning for the development of the village.

 Agriculture Scenario

The livelihood of the village is dominated by agriculture with a few services sector jobs. The major agricultural produce from the village includes betel nut (areca nut), oil palm, and fish which are sold to other parts of Mizoram. The warm and humid climate with abundant rainfall and favourable soil condition has provided a favourable environment for the growth of Areca nut and is the major source of income. The village is often known as “City of Betel Nut”. In addition to these, around 129 families still practise Jhum cultivation, 322 families practise WRC.

Areca Nut as a Major livelihood Option

The arecanut is an important commercial plantation crop. It is also known as ‘betel nut’ and is the kernel obtained from the fruit of arecanut palm. It is mostly used by people as a masticatory. Some other uses of arecanut reported are dying clothes, tanning leather and food colour.

As per the field survey data, around 500 families grow Arecanut. The Farmers in this village have grown Areca nut for more than 20 years. In 2021, the total income generated by Areca nut was more than Rs. 800 lakhs. The growers of areca nuts formed ‘The Areca nut growers Association’ and records data of the total income generated, maintaining market linkage and consulting various departments.

The farmers mainly grow two varieties which they call the Assam variety & India variety. ‘India’ variety start flowering in March and are ready to be harvested from October, ‘Assam’ variety start flowering in winter and are ready to be harvested from January. A single Areca nut tree can bear around 1000 nuts.

Land preparation

 Most of the agricultural lands in Mizoram are hilly areas where without proper land preparation there is a high rate of soil erosion and the fertility of the soil reduces drastically. With increased soil erosion and low soil fertility the productivity of the area is low. Nevertheless, the farmers in this village have no concern about land preparation, most of the farming practices in the Areca nut farm are done manually and the practice of jhum cultivation (Cutting down the forest and burning) is still followed. Inappropriate land preparation also increases labour cost during planting the seedling, harvesting, plant protection and transporting the harvest. The farmers reported that loss of soil fertility has a negative impact on the quality and size of the Areca nut and susceptibility to diseases like dry rot.

Recently, the farmers started practising half-moon terracing, where before planting the Areca nut seedling the sloping land is cut like a moon shape, enabling the moisture and fertilisers applied to retain longer in the soil.

Seedling Preparation

Bilkhawthlir are the main suppliers of arecanut seedlings to the neighbouring villages and are one of the biggest suppliers in the state. Seedling preparation is generally done by the farmers by carefully selecting the ripe Areca nut from the matured Areca nut tree. The selected Areca nuts are then placed in a jute bag and later covered for germination, during the period of germination appropriate moisture and avoiding direct sunlight is crucial for germination. The germinated seed is then later nurtured in Polyhouse by using a polypot for around 1-2 months.

Pre-Harvest

No practice of soil conservation, no fertilisers and non-mechanised farming. The only chemical used is a weedicide called glycel. Due to loss of soil quality by erosion or other factors, some farmers reported a need for use of fertilisers. However, there are no chemical or bio-fertilizers available in the village. Training on basic farming techniques is often provided by ICAR.

Post-harvest

No storage facility is available in the village. However, the arecanuts are sold even before fruiting to be harvested at the time of maturity to traders from Assam and other mainland India.

Manufacturing

1. Kuhva skob khawl: The arecanut growers’ association have a Kuhva skob khawl funded by NABARD, located at Chemphai. The machine is used for preparation of dried areca nuts that are broken into bits. However, the machine is not yet fully functional due to lack of technical experts.

2. Disposable plate making machine: The SelfHelp Group has a machine that makes biodegradable disposable plates from arecanut leaves. Each plate costs Rs 6-8 per plate.
   Problems:

No person in charge.

Limited availability of raw materials i.e arecanut leaves

No warehouse to store the raw materials or products

Needs:

1. Technical assistance in skoping of arecanut- The small-scale industry for preparation of dry arecanut located at Chemphai does not function anymore. The trial runs conducted so far failed resulting in spoilage loss of the raw materials. There is a need to provide technical assistance or training of personnels involved in processing of arecanut.
2. Fertilisers & pesticides – The farmers reported cases of disease and decrease in the size of the areca nuts. It is believed that the soil has lost its fertility significantly after years of plantation. There is a need to assess the quality of soil and supply of fertilisers where needed.