Karnataka: Excessive rain affects yield, chilli growers feel the heat

HUBBALLI: More than 100 farmers from Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag districts are participating in the three-day dry chilli mela which started at the Moorusavir Mutt here on Saturday. The produce is fetching them a good price rate, but lower yield would curtail their net income.
With excessive rainfall and floods to blame for lower yield, farmers were expecting to air their grievance before Union minister Pralhad Joshi and district-in-charge minister Jagdish Shettar who inaugurated the 10th edition of the event. After lighting the lamp to mark the inauguration, Joshi and Shettar left the venue in a hurry to attend another programme, leaving the farmers disappointed.
Growers from Kubihal village said they wanted to narrate their plight as they suffered massive crop loss due to excessive rainfall and plunging price. Shankargouda Patil from Boodhihaal village in Kundgol taluk said he got only 30kg yield on his 4-acre land due to excessive rainfall. "The price for dry chilli in the market is good, but it is unfortunate that I got a yield of 30kg which is not even 10kg per acre," he said.
Hussain Nadaf from Koobihal village of the same taluk had a better yield, but not to his expectations. He got 2.5 quintals of chilli on 5 acres of his land. "Due to excessive rainfall, the yield dropped to a great extent. I only got a yield of around 80kg per acre. Had the rain been not excessive, the yield could have touched 4 quintals per acre," Nadaf said.
He added that the price of dry chilli is good, but volatile. "The price may slip any time as the Guntur and Ballari varieties may start hitting the market soon," he said.
The price might have been good in the market, but farmers are not getting a satisfactory income due to low yield. The higher value has also burnt a hole in the pocket of consumers. Radhakrishna Rangaswamy, a resident of Ganeshpet who has been purchasing chilli in the mela every year, purchased 17kg of dry chilli by spending Rs 300 per kg. He said though the quality was good, the price was high.
Ankita Katwe of Ambedkar Nagar said she purchased 10kg of Byadagi Dabbi variety by paying 320 per kg. She said the quality was high with pungent smell.