In Frames | Winter harvest

Entire families of the Araku region in A.P. participate in growing root vegetables and getting the harvest packed for the Friday market

The fields nestled in the Eastern Ghats range in the Araku region of Andhra Pradesh on the boundary with Odisha are brimming with a bumper harvest of sweet potato and radish this season. Traditionally, these winter crops are harvested between October and March.

Sweet potato is grown in large quantities in the uplands inhabited by tribal communities in a farming practice that is centuries old. The highlands, situated 800 metres to 1,600 metres above the mean sea level, are geographically suited for the cultivation of these root vegetables.

Entire families participate in the laborious process of growing the crop and getting it ready for the market. For sweet potato cultivation, the land is ploughed three or four times. It takes three or four months before the crop is ready for harvest.

The crop has to be packed and ready for transport one day before the weekly Friday shandy (local market) in Araku. The harvesting begins in the early hours, followed by the washing of the tubers.

Piles of sweet potato and radish are lined up along the fields, waiting to be washed in the streams and canals nearby. Both men and women take turns to complete the task while attending to the children in the family.

Once the vegetables are washed, they are packed in sacks. Balancing the vegetable sacks on their heads, the villagers trek long distances to reach the weekly shandy.

The sweet potato and radish grown in the Araku region and its neighbouring belts are much sought after among wholesale vendors who arrive at the shandy from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. A small heap of sweet potato or radish is sold for ₹20 at the Araku shandy. The local produce is also a favourite among tourists.