Sharp vegetable price crash singes farmers’ hopes

MYSURU: Just when they were hoping for a bumper yield, after suffering huge losses last year during the first wave of Covid-19, farmers are finding themselves in dire straits again. The government has imposed strict curbs to control the spread of the highly infectious SARS-CoV2 virus.

The cap on number of attendees at weddings, ban on social gatherings, fairs and festivals have also badly affected the prospects of farmers. Adding to their worries, there has been a noticeable dip in the movement of vehicles transporting vegetables and fruits to neighbouring Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Vegetables, that were being sold for a minimum of Rs 20 per kg have now dropped sharply to under Rs 10 per kg. Farmers, who had invested heavily on crops like tomato, watermelon, beans, cabbage, ladies finger, cucumber, banana, etc., anticipating good returns, are shattered as they are forced to sell at throwaway prices. 

Farmers forced to destroy their crops

Tomato es, that were being sold at an average of Rs 15 per kg for the past couple of months, has suddenly crashed to Rs 4 per kg in the market. Consequently, farmers are not even getting Rs 2 per kg and are resorting to destroying the crop as they cannot even pay wages to labourers employed for harvesting. Mahesh, a farmer who had grown bumper crop in seven acres near Siddaiahnapura Cross in Chamarajanagar district, has now assigned 15 labourers to destroy the standing crop.

He says they have suffered losses of more than Rs 15 lakh as there is no demand for tomatoes. “I would have been got back my investment even if I had got at least Rs 5 per kg. How can we sustain if traders are not ready to buy even at Rs 2 per kg?” he asked. “It is heartwrenching to pull out plants that are bearing over 15 kg of ripe tomatoes. Since there is no demand or good prices, we just do want the landlord asks us to,” rued Mangamma, a labourer from Haradanahalli.

“I had no other option but to sell tomatoes for Rs 2 per kg as we have spent more than Rs 2 lakh to cultivate the crop on two acres,” said Rachappa. Many other farmers have left the produce unharvested in the fields, hoping that it can be used manure.

The almost 60 per cent dip in the number of vegetable trucks from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Kerala has only rubbed salt into the wounds of farmers. Federation of State Farmers Organisations president Kurboor Shanthakumar said that the government failed to take experts’ suggestions seriously and make preparations to counter the second wave and has put people and farmers into trouble.