Government agencies have stepped in to help farmers growing red banana in the district who are struggling to find markets for their yield due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Both the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) and the Vegetable and Fruits Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) have included red bananas in their vegetable and fruit kits that are being sold online.
Known locally as kappa pazham, the red variety finds takers mostly in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. However, the COVID-19 epidemic dealt a blow to the farmers this year. The variety is grown in agriculturally rich regions such as Neyyattinkara, Nedumangad and Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram, a district known for banana cultivation.
Horticorp and the VFPCK have procured around three tonnes of the red banana so far in the district. “We are stepping up procurement. We have also included it in the fruit kits supplied in Ernakulam,” said J. Sajeev, Managing Director, Horticorp, adding that Horticorp was planning to step up procurement.
The VFPCK had already included the red banana in its assorted fruit kits sold online in Thiruvananthapuram, said Mary Simon, district manager, VFPCK. The kit includes nendran, kappapazham and palayamkodan/robusta.
R. Balachandran Nair, chairman, Sanghamaitri Farmer Producers’ Company, underscored the need for markets. “The cultivation of red bananas is coming down in the district. Large quantities are also coming in from Tamil Nadu,” he said.