Sarat Sarma narrates how Nagaon’s lemons missed the flight to Norway.

Seven years ago, lemon farmers of Assam’s Nagaon district were promised a dream – of exporting the citrus fruits to Norway. The sweet dreams, however, soon turned sour as the farmers were left high and dry by the district administration. The issue still crops up every election.

Residents of Puranigudam, an area in Barhampur development block under Barhampur Assembly constituency in Nagaon district, said the administration had formed an agency called Hortfed in 2008 to encourage local farmers to grow lemons for export.

Hortfed offered them the required infrastructure, including cold storage, storehouses, offices, all kinds of financial, technical and manpower support from the agriculture and rural development departments, marketing facility and almost six times the market price for lemons.

Bidyut Bora, a lemon grower of Samaguri under Bajiagaon development block, said the farmers were promised 6 rupees a lemon while the peak season rate of a lemon in the local market was 1 rupee.

According to official reports, the agriculture department spent about 20 million rupees under a centrally sponsored Horticulture Mission for the Northeast and the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) carried out several schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to assist the lemon farmers between 2009 and 2011.

“The farmers interested in growing lemons were asked to contribute with land for the lemon orchards. The DRDA ploughed the plots and planted saplings – all within a week. This was immediately followed by a visit from some high officials and foreigners,” said Nathuram Hazarika of Puranigudam.

Rajib Hazarika of Bhutaigaon , also in Barhampur development block, narrated his experience: “When the DRDA personnel came to know that a high-level team from Norway would soon visit the district, they even planted lemon branches in some areas when they fell short of saplings to give a complete picture of an orchard.”

Noor Hussain, a schoolteacher in Pakhimoria development block, also under Barhampur constituency, said, “Initially the project was good. A private firm, Shimla Hills Offering Pvt Ltd, came to survey the area. They brought some European gentlemen who collected lemon samples from the site. Later, the group expressed interest in exporting lemons from Nagaon to Norway at a rate fixed by the administration.”

But that was the end of it and lemons were never exported. “No one from the DRDA was seen in the gardens after that,” Hazarika said.

Lack of support from the administration, be it fencing, irrigation, pesticide or other promised infrastructure, gradually resulted in the death of the saplings and the project.

The lemon gardens, however, still exist in the Nagaon DRDA office records. The files say the orchards have been fenced, are irrigated timely, are annually nurtured by fertilisers and saved from insects by pesticides and all this work is done by MGNREGA job cardholders. “But these gardens died long ago,” pointed out Hazarika.

According to official records, most of the lemon gardens were established in areas under Barhampur and Pakhimoria development blocks of the district. Parts of Lawkhowa, Bajiagaon and Kothiatoli development blocks were also covered by the DRDA’s lemon project. The district has 8,050 registered lemon growers and lemon orchards were planted in 2,680 hectares.

Lemon farmers alleged that largescale misuse of funds and failure to carry out the proposed work by the implementing authorities shattered their dreams.

The shards still hurt, even after seven years. “The idea – the plan to provide infrastructure and calling exporters – could have been be a big help for the genuine 8,050 lemon growers,” rued Bora.

The farmers feel let down by all politicians – they feel the government duped them and the Opposition too had failed to raise the issue.

“When farmers of the district are deprived of a golden opportunity, our leaders remain mysteriously silent. What can people expect from these leaders who cannot think beyond votes,” Bora said.

Nagaon, which goes to the polls in the second and final phase on Monday, has 11 Assembly constituencies. Five of these were held by the ruling Congress (one was withheld), two are held by the AGP and three by the AIUDF.

Hopes of lemon export squeezed out and feeling let down by parties, the people want an honest candidate who will “understand the feelings of the farmers”.

“Not a party, but a good, honest candidate should be elected who can at least understand the feelings of farmers,” said Robin Dey, a leader of the Hojai district unit of Pathar Porisalona Committee (PPC), a state-level organisation of farmers. Hojai was a subdivision of Nagaon district when the lemon project was undertaken.