Dip in watermelon price troubles growers

BALANGIR: Watermelon cultivators in the district are facing a difficult time as the price of the fruit is decreasing day by day. The fruit is being sold at `6.50 per kg. Sources said it was priced between `7 and `18 last month. Even farmers were bound to sell the fruit at a price as low as `3 per kg. The watermelon growers incurred loss due to hailstorm and poor quality of seeds. Watermelon is grown in Patnagarh, Belpada, Loisingha and Agalpur blocks of the district.

About 500 families of 15 villages in the drought-prone Belpada block have opted for watermelon cultivation instead of migrating to other States. Villages like Hatkat, Khalkhali, Phatamunda and Raikhal are famous for watermelon cultivation. Earlier, farmers used to migrate to Andhra Pradesh to work in brick kilns. In order to avert migration, villagers decided to take up watermelon cultivation once the paddy season was over in November. They started cultivation with whatever resources they had and made use of the same piece of land. During March and June, most of them are found busy tending watermelons. 

 “This year, I have grown watermelon over an acre. I had earned more than `60,000 last year. But this time, I have been forced to sell the yield quite early due to lack of storage facility. Moreover, hailstorm played spoilsport. I ran into losses,” said Cheru Rout, a farmer of Kalchikachar of Belpada.

Koutuka Bag of Raikhal village said, “I have no options left but to sell the fruits to vendors coming from outside the State. While it is sold at `10 per kg in the local market, traders procure it from the farmers at `4 to `5 per kg.” Another villager Jatin Patra claimed that middlemen were taking advantage of the situation and reaping profits. “In the absence of proper storage facilities, farmers are selling the fruit at lower rates to the middlemen,” Patra added.The cultivators demanded the district administration to take steps to regulate the sale of the fruit and provide proper storage facilities.