The lockdown has dampened the prospects of guava farmers in Cuddalore district due to bottlenecks in transport coupled with poor demand resulting in fruits rotting on the trees.
The lockdown has destroyed the rural economy with farmers staring at a rotting produce.
The fruit is cultivated on 1,000 acres in the district. A number of farmers in Panruti, Panapakkam, Varinjipakkam, Thiruthurayur, Orayur, Karumbur and Poondi had spent huge money in the hopes of getting high returns.
Prior to the lockdown, the fruits were transported in mini vans to markets in Chennai, Puducherry, Coimbatore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Tiruchy, Madurai, Salem and districts in Kerala.
But now the situation has changed. Though the fruits are ready for sale, there are no takers due to lockdown restrictions and farmers fear that they will be hit hard this year.
J. Gowthaman, a farmer, said that he was not sure whether he would be able to sell even one-third of his produce. Traders have failed to turn up at the wholesale markets and the fruits are rotting in the orchards.
“The virus scare has also brought the prices to a bare minimum. The rates have now plummeted to ₹100 per box of 12 kg of green variety and ₹70 per box for the Lucknow pink variety as against ₹400 and ₹300 respectively. There is hardly any demand due to restrictions in inter-State transport,”he said.
“This is the only source of income for my family. More than the loss of money, it is worse to see the fruits rotting in the orchards. I don’t know how I will repay the loans,” says Narayanan, another farmer of Kanisapakkam.
Ko. Madhavan, district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said July to September was the peak season for the fruit.
The Department of Horticulture must intervene immediately and procure the fruits from farmers, he says.