Mentha Farming

in Bundelkhand

Yogesh Bandhu Arya

Utkarsh K Sinha

Centre for Contemporary Studies and Research, Lucknow

Structure of the Study

5 Development Blocks

20 Villages

100 Household

Surveyed on purposive random

sampling method

Maim Source of Income of Farmers

Farming

80%

Labourer

2%

Service

11%Others

7%

Farming Labourer Service Others

Mentha is rapidly taking place in the region

80 percent farmers in surveyed area are engaged in mentha farming

Crop Preference in Surveyed Area

36.28

41.97

18.34

33.38

7.56

17.64

31.39Sugarcane/

Others

Potato/

Other

VegetablesOilseeds

Pulses

Coarsegrain

Wheat

Mentha

Mentha

Mentha is the second most preferred crop in region

Sugarcane is significantly replaced by mentha in last three years

Economic Profile of Mentha Farmers

22.7

16.4

27.3

16.4

13.6

3.6

Less than Rs. 50,000

Rs. 50,000 to 1,00,000

Rs. 1.0 to 1.5 Lakh

Rs. 1.5 to 2.0 Lakh

Rs. 2.0 to 3.0 Lakh

Rs. 3.0 to 5.0 Lakh

Average Annual Income (figure in percentage)

A Large number of low income farmers are engaged in mentha farming

Comparative Income from Different Crops in Surveyed Area (per Acre)

Comparative Income from Different Crops (per Acre)

CropMinimum

IncomeMaximum

IncomeAverageIncome

Mentha 9,500 1,50,000 35,812

Wheat 1,200 20,000 10,247

Coarsegrain 600 18,400 7,057

Pulses 1,050 20,000 7,994

Oilseeds 1,500 28,000 7,650

Potato/ Other Vegetables

1,500 58,000 15,618

Sugarcane/Others 727 15,000 10,793

Vegetables and oilseed are thrust area, which can be produced

in alternative to Mentha

Average Cost of Mentha Farming (per Acre)

Average Expenditure on Mentha Farming (per Acre)

Occasion ofExpenditure

Fertilizer Pesticide LabourOther

ExpansesTotal

Expenditure

At the Time ofSowing

445.65 498.00 720.15 532.31 2,196.11

Upto FirstCutting

639.16 430.0017,43.5

44592.2 7,404.89

From 1st to 2nd

Cutting540.67 500.00

11,70.21

1,926.35 4,137.24

From 2nd to 3rd

Cutting506.67 00.00 1,100 2,168.18 3,775.85

TotalExpenditure

17,514.09

In opposite to popular notion

Mentha requires high capital cost for production

Average Cost of Irrigation

Details of Irrigation (Rs./Acre)

Timing of IrrigationAverage Number of

IrrigationAverage Cost of

Irrigation

At the Time of Sowing/Weeding

1 513.84/-

Upto First Cutting12 5066.92/-

From 1st to 2nd Cutting5 2396.99/-

From 2nd to 3rd Cutting4 2863.64/-

Total Numberof

Irrigation

Two Cutting

18 8,856/-

Three

Cutting 22 10,824/-

Average Cost per Irrigationper Acre

Rs. 492 to Rs. 603/-

Average Production of Mentha (per Acre)

35 Litre

73%

30 Litre

3%

25 Litre

5%

40 Litre

19%

25 Litre 30 Litre 35 Litre 40 Litre

Average yield in term of oil is just 32 liters in three

cutting, while farmers are for only two cuttings, and

average price is just Rs. 450/- to 550/-. It means if we

include the actual water price it is not very profitable crop

Water Intensity of Mentha Production

An average mentha crop requires, 18 to 22 times watering (irrigation)

1 time watering needs 8 to 10 hours of pumping the water from electric pump

A pump in hour exhales 20,000 to 25,000

water in a hour

It implies that 2 to 2.5 lakh litre water at time

That is 50 lakh litre per acre for 30 to 35 litre of mentha oil (average production/acre)

In other words, production of 1 litter mentha requires 1 lakh to 1.25 lakh water, which is the main reason of ground water depletion in Bundelkhand

Can we afford such huge ecological cost

Crop Displaced by Mentha

Sugarcane

93%

Coarsegrain

1%

Pulses

1%

Wheat

3%

Oilseeds

2%

Sugarcane Oilseeds Coarsegrain Pulses Wheat

7% cultivated area of cereals and oilseeds is displaced by mentha Which

is a major potential threat for food security as well as environment

Crop Sown after Mentha

Others

5%

Oilseeds

0%

Corsegrain

1%

Pulses

0%

Wheat

39%

None

55%

Wheat Pulses Corsegrain Oilseeds Others None

Since Mentha requires a long gestation period for 2 to 3 cutting,

Therefore, farmers are getting only one crop in whole year

Farmer’s Response on Mentha Farming

Low Income

16%

High Cost

34%Low

Productivity , 21

Satisfied

29%

Mentha farmers himself are not very satisfied, but they did not

have other better alternative so they are engaged in mentha

cropping. Therefore it our (government officials and department

as well as civil society organisations) duty to make aware

them about this crime

Ground Water Depletion in Surveyed Area

Village NameWater Level before

last Three Years

Current

Water Level

Wells/Tube

Wells Dried

Ponds

Dried

Hand

Pump

Aaheta 30 25 4 0 12

Aandda 45 16 18 2 10

Amkhera 40 20 14 4 15

Bhitara 50 30 20 2 18

Chaki 30 18 5 4 16

Chiriya S. 60 30 4 3 18

Gohani 40 15 6 4 15

Hardoi G. 50 25 8 5 20

Harouli 40 20 7 4 12

Higuta 40 15 6 2 15

Kamsera 40 15 5 2 13

Mijhona 40 25 25 3 16

Ranwa 55 20 6 0 15

Rura 50 20 2 3 14

Saravan 30 12 3 4 12

Sihari 45 20 10 3 18

Vagra 35 20 10 4 15

Vohara 45 12 11 3 19

Average 42.5 26 9 3 15

Hope you will think and act positively

in this direction

Thank YouYogesh Bandhu Arya

Utkarsh K Sinha

Centre for Contemporary Studies and Research, Lucknow