Mizoram: How smuggling broke the back of Hachhek's areca nut farmers

“I have been assigned to collect the Christmas offerings this year in our church in Kawrthah (a village in the Mamit district of Mizoram). In other years, by this time we would have completed the offering collection, but I have not started yet. It is a woeful position to be the collector of Christmas offerings this year,” says ZR Lalthlanmawia, one of the farmers who has suffered major losses due to the issues faced in the transportation of Mizoram’s areca nut produce to other states.

The areca nut farmers in the Hachhek constituency have called for a total bandh starting today, Wednesday. All the roads, offices and schools in the 34 villages will remain closed until further notice. In a statement, the Hachhek farmers’ association said they find it regretful that the Mizoram government continues to ignore the Myanmar areca nut smuggling activities and godowns of those responsible. “We demand the government to catch those involved in the smuggling trade and relieve our burdens as soon as possible,” they said.

There are around 34 villages in Mamit District’s Hachhek constituency, where 80% of the farmers are engaged in areca nut plantations. Recently, the farmers have called strikes and met state-level and national-level officials as they are facing difficulty transporting their fresh areca nut produce to other states, especially Assam, as their produce is allegedly being mistaken for smuggled areca nuts from Myanmar which are huge in number.

With sales at an all-time low, the farmers are now staring at a bleak Christmas season.

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Lalthlanmawia has been engaged in areca nut farming for around 15 years. He told EastMojo that they have never faced such problems in the past decades and believes the state is to blame.

“What I believe is the truth is this the Union Home Ministry asked the state of Mizoram to take action against areca nut smugglers from Myanmar in 2019. But the smuggling activity continued freely. At the same time, the Assam government has followed the order of the Union ministry and taken strict action against smugglers.”

In previous years, Lalthlanmawia used to see a profit of around Rs 4-5 lakh from the areca nuts on his farm but in the past year, he has made zero profit.

Such has been the scale of smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar that it caught even the Central government’s attention in 2019

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“Even today, trucks transporting these smuggled areca nuts can pass check gates freely from the border town of Champhai to other places. If the state government had taken stringent action, we would not be in this situation today. We have met many officials and we have tried our best, but the state government has remained silent. They tell us we love our farmers and distribute seeds through the state flagship Socio-Economic Development Policy but when we are facing a crisis now and they don’t want to get involved,” he added.

Hachhek Bial Kuhva Chingtu Pawl (HBKCP), an umbrella body of various betel nut grower societies in the Hachhek constituency, has taken measures to catch such smugglers and assigned members to take duty posts. As recent as November 6, the association members caught two trucks smuggling around 120 bags each of areca nuts near Luimawi, in Mamit District.

Locals allege that several high-ranking officials are involved in the smuggling process.

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Lalthlanmawia recalled an incident from December 2021 where he and a few of his friends were on duty to check for illegal transport of smuggled areca nuts.
“We caught one truck carrying smuggled areca nuts and when we asked the driver how he got the clearance to pass through the check gate, he told us that one Superintendent of Police called the duty personnel on the check gate and gave the truck clearance. It is often the case where higher officials call those on duty and ask them to let the trucks pass through. High-ranking police officials and district officials are involved. Otherwise, there would be no chance for these trucks to pass through freely. Sometimes, three to four of these trucks travel together at a time. Even the police told us they have given up, they see no meaning in seizing the smugglers as higher-ranking officials release them,” he said.

Earlier this year, in January, the Mizoram government transferred Mizoram Civil Service (MCS) officer Maria CT Zuali, who, in her post as the Champhai district deputy commissioner, took strong action against illegal areca nut trading, which was rampant in the border district. Various trade unions and organisations had pressured the government over her transfer even as one truck owner filed an FIR against her.

Hacchek residents have been growing areca nuts since the mid 1960s, and it remains the region’s most crucial export

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The people of the Hachhek constituency have been growing areca nuts since 1964. Since 1980, the traders, locally known as ‘Mahajans’, started coming from Assam acting as the middlemen between the sellers in Assam and the areca nut farmers of Mizoram.

HBKCP’s Assistant Secretary, Kanan Lalhlimawma’s grandfather was among a group of seven people who started the plantations.

“My grandfather and six of his friends brought the seed from Saikhawthlir (a village in Zonuam block in Mamit district) and they started cultivation in small patches. We were really happy we chose betel nut cultivation as our livelihood and we did not face any major problems, until now. This year, we have sold some amounts of our betel nuts to the traders and received a small advance but if they cannot transport and sell it in Assam, then there is little hope for us to receive the rest of the money. Unless the concerned departments provide us with certificates stating that the produce is indeed from Mizoram, we may face more trouble. November is the month for us to harvest our produce so we have started spending sleepless nights.”

Many locals dismissed the idea that the recent Assam-Mizoram border clash has damaged their markets.

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While some have asserted the Mizoram-Assam border issues led to an increased vigilance from the Assam side, Lalhlimawma believes otherwise.

“They blame the border issue and some say it is BJP politics but I think when we look at it from the point of view of the Indian constitution, that is not the case. In 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs told Mizoram CS (Chief Secretary) to curb the areca nut smuggling activities in the state. The Central government aims to protect the farmers to strengthen the economy. Especially as India is leading in terms of areca nut cultivation and export, imposing a 40% tax on imports is an attempt to protect its rights. Myanmar areca nut smuggling activities started around 2014, but it was in small amounts. In 2020-21, these smuggling activities increased majorly. The central government is against it because it has come to an extent where it is affecting the livelihoods of its citizens. The Assam government is not to blame, it is the central government’s orders.”

Compared to any other work, smuggling offers the largest profit and hence it becomes easy to entice locals, believe the residents.

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On why the smuggling activities have peaked in recent years, Lalhlimawma said, “When people came to know of the high profits in smuggling Myanmar areca nuts, many started getting involved. The Mizos are people who easily catch on with new trends, and businesspersons, as well as wealthy citizens, started getting into the areca nut smuggling trade. It became so intense that it reached the ears of the Ministry of Home Affairs. When I spoke to one guard on duty at the border, he told me that on average, a 12-wheeler truck carries around 50 to 80 trips in a month. To find out why there was confusion between smuggled areca nuts from Myanmar and fresh Mizoram areca nuts, one time, we decided to make a trip to try and understand why they are seizing the areca nuts and to ask for the seizure list from the Assam check post. But they did not give it to us, instead, they just responded saying it was an order of the higher authorities and sent us back.”

The representatives say they have met national and state leaders and apprised them of the rampant smuggling but to no avail

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The HBKCP farmers have tried to reach state as well as national-level leaders to hear their plea. Members of the association first met the Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on June 6, 2022, to apprise him of their problem. They appealed to the Chief Minister to seize all the Myanmar areca nut godowns and the persons responsible within June.

‘On July 15, they wrote to the Home Minister and Soil Minister and met the Home Commissioner and Secretary. A joint group YMA study team travelled to Assam to meet Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on September 2. After the meeting, they again called on the Mizoram Chief Minister on September 5. The group has also submitted a memorandum to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu and Kailash Choudhary, Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India when the officials visited the state in recent weeks. Choudhury assured them that he would take the matter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discuss the matter with Mizoram and Assam government leaders. The minister further advised them to form a Farmers’ Producer Organisation.

The locals are in no mood to end their protests unless the govt promises strong action against smugglers and apt compensation for the farmers

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“On September 21, 2022, Assam CM and Mizoram CM met in New Delhi where they discussed how the Mizoram-produced areca nuts would be able to pass the state borders at 100% capacity. According to a government press release, the Assam Chief Minister had assured his Mizoram counterpart that he would inform the police to let the fresh areca nuts be transported safely to Assam. We had high hopes but we have not seen any progress to date. Around 948 families have had zero sales because of the current issue, and over 5000 lives have been affected. After December 15, we will not have anything to sell anymore as all the fruits would have fallen. Many of us have sent our children for higher education in the state capital and other states. We might have to call our children home if the situation continues like this,” said Khiangte.

HBKCP said they would expect the government to pay them compensation of Rs 27.5 crore if the issue is not resolved. The last truck trip of areca nuts from Mizoram attempted to enter the state of Assam on October 31, where they were halted at a police station in Assam. In the last year, the farmers had made sales of around Rs Rs 20 crore and were hoping for sales of around Rs 50 crore as the yield is expected to increase each year.

EastMojo tried contacting the Home department officials for comments but did not receive a response. On the night of November 14, HBKCP released a statement saying they will impose a total bandh in the Hachhek constituency from November 16 onwards until the government takes action.