Betel Nut Production as an Occupational Pursuit: A Regional Paradigm on its Manufacturing and Marketization
Durlove Borah1, Jayanta Dutta2, Sukanya Hazarika3
1Jayanta Dutta, Research Scholar, Dept. of Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India.
2Sukanya Hazarika, Masters in English, former student, Dept. of English and Foreign Languages, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India.
3Durlove Borah, Research Scholar, Dept. of Economics, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam, India.
Manuscript received on March 12, 2020. | Revised Manuscript received on March 25, 2020. | Manuscript published on March 30, 2020. | PP: 2649-2654 | Volume-8 Issue-6, March 2020. | Retrieval Number: F7641038620/2020©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.F7641.038620
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Embedded in our indigenous culture, betel nut is an important cultural identifier of Assamese society. Like as a part of many Asian cultures, there are profound usages of betel nut in Assamese social and religious occasions. It is of high esteem to serve the guests with betel nut as a mouth freshener. Its scientific name is Areca catechu. In India, betel nut production is dominant in the coastal regions. Although, as a tropical crop, its heavy production can be seen in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and some others. Published in a report titled “Arecanut Area, production and productivity, in India” by Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, within India, Karnataka produces 62.69 percent of total production followed by Kerala and Assam; all three states together producing 88.59 percent in the years 2013-2014. Regarding with a special ethno-religious prestige, the use of betel nut in Assam is attributed to the Ahom period. Harvesting betel nut in an extensive way has become an occupational pursuit for many native cultivators and it has drawn a global market too which is a good recognition for this indigenous crop. Qualities of land and climatic conditions have a tremendous impact on its production. In this study, a specific treatment has been made relying on a field study of Nagaon district of Assam to focus on the factors determining betel nut production. Along with it, discussion has been made on different cropping patterns and land utilization and its impact on productivity, data sampling of growers and per capita income, its manufacturing profit all are elaborately considered in this article.
Keywords: Production, Occupation, Manufacture, Marketing, Income.
Scope of the Article: Marketing and Social Sciences.