Farmers urged to use jute ribboners

MALDA, 6 AUG.: The agriculture development officers in Malda are suggesting that farmers use manually operated ‘jute ribboner machines’ to overcome the ongoing water crisis for jute retting.

The farmers in Malda are still undecided as to whether they will start harvesting jute from the fields, owing to the lack of standing water in low laying areas because of inadequate rainfall.

For the indigenous method of jute retting farmers need the huge expanses of wetlands created naturally by rain during the monsoon.

According to the agriculture department, farmers have harvested 10 to 12 per cent of the jute from 17,000 ha land in this district.

This year, due to lack of rain in February, March and April, the farmers could not cover a total of 23,000 ha land identified as under jute cultivation.

“To overcome the jute retting problem we are suggesting that farmers use jute ribboner machines to collect the bark from the jute plants just after harvesting. The farmers can easily dip those collected barks in a limited water pond to get improved quality jute fibre,” said Mr Samarendra Nath Das, agriculture development (technical) officer.

“The process of jute retting, using manually operated ribboner machines, does not require a huge amount of stagnant water. We have completed a demonstration on the block level,” Mr Das said.

According to the agriculture department, the farmers’ cooperatives can avail of loans for this purpose and also to build concrete water ponds for the immersion of jute bark and washing to get improved quality jute fibre.

In the lean period they can use the pond for pesiculture.

Traditionally, the farmers here do not think the purity of water will improve the quality of their produce or get a better price. They use dirty water for retting and washing jute.

As a result the JCI (Jute Corporation of India) collects TD-5 (medium) quality of jute from Malda farmers.

Recently, the agriculture department has also suggested that the farmers dip jute fibre in a particular chemical and dry it avoiding sunlight to get golden coloured jute fibre following the demand of the present market.

In Malda district, Manikchak, Kaliachak III, Chanchal I and II blocks produce quality jute every year. ;SNS