THOOTHUKUDI
Lemon farmers at Villiseri village in Kovilpatti taluk are sour over declining market price of the fruit. Next to Puliayangudi, a well-known lemon producing centre in Tirunelveli district, Villiseri produced the maximum amount of the fruit in the southern districts.
Now a kilogram of lemon is sold for ₹15, whereas last year, it was sold for ₹50 to ₹80. Despite lack of rain, lemon was raised through drip irrigation, channel irrigation and well irrigation at the village.
The crop raised on an acre yielded about two to three tonnes of fruit last year. This year, the yield has gone up to five tonnes.
Farm labourers were also bearing the brunt of this unhealthy market trend as wages could hardly be paid for them, K. Balamurugan, a progressive farmer, who owns a lemon grove at the village, told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
Though other crops were raised seasonally, lemon tended to be a promising crop for the village. Around 150 farmers were engaged in raising lemon on 500 acres at Villiseri, Mr. Balamurugan said.
He said PKM - I crop variety was cultivated on the red soil through well irrigation. “Around 16 to 20 lemons weighed one kg,” he said.
The increased yield glutted the market, leading to a fall in its price. It was primarily due to intrusion of middlemen between farmers and consumers, S. Palaisamy, another farmer, said.
High production of the fruit in several parts of the country this year was also one of the reasons for the decline in its price. Huge arrivals from Bijapur (Karnataka) and Railway Koduru (Andhra Pradesh) at the local market had brought down the price, he said.
Another aggrieved farmer, A. Balakrishnan, said cold storage facility became a necessity for lemon farmers. He said former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced that a cold storage facility would be set up at Sankarankovil, but there was still no sign of action on the announcement.
A. Rajamannar, a farmer, said value addition to the fruit was required to boost its market potential. Lemon had a good export market potential and it was high time officials sensitised farmers to the need to tap the potentiality, he said.