Horticulture farmers reel under labour shortage, low prices

Coimbatore: Sweet potatoes cultivated in 1.5 acres of P Kandasamy’s farm at Madukkarai are ready for harvest. However, farm labourers are refusing to turn up for work due to the lockdown and traders are not coming to pick up the produce.
Sweet potatoes will rot if left in the ground for long, especially with monsoon around the corner, says Kandasamy. He is not the only farmer facing challenges during the lockdown. A growing number of farmers in the district, especially those who cultivate vegetables that have to be harvested year-long, are facing a crisis because of labourer shortage and traders looking for the cheapest possible price.
Pasupathy, who is growing lady’s finger in his farm at Vazhukkuparai, has started plucking the produce with the help of his mother and sister every alternate day, and selling directly to consumers. “You can’t leave vegetables without harvesting too long. So, we have begun plucking a few kilograms ourselves till people come for work,” he told TOI. “The only saving grace is the increase of vegetable price at the farmgate from the earlier Rs Rs 5 to Rs Rs 6 per kilogram, which was not even covering labour cost, to Rs Rs 15 now. “It is still not enough. We need the farmgate price to increase to at least Rs Rs 20.”
Several farmers had spent up to Rs Rs 50,000 per acre on manure, labour and seeds. “It is becoming difficult to even get back the money spent on cultivation,” says Kandasamy, who hopes to get Rs Rs 10/kg, so that he won’t have to get into debt.
B Sathish, who cultivates lady’s finger at his farm 8km from Chavadi, says traders offered him Rs Rs 2/kg. “We are wondering how we can feed ourselves this year.”
It’s high time to introduce minimum support price for vegetables and milk, say farmers’ associations. “Traders are offering us rock-bottom prices. With hotels and caterers seeing low business and many even closing, traders don’t have enough business. As people are working from home and staying indoors, consumption seems to have fallen,” says Karthik Krishnakumar of Tamil Nadu Vivaisaigal Sangam. “Even dairy farmers supplying to the private sector are getting hardly Rs Rs 22/litre, which is not feasible at all,” he adds.
The last year has been so challenging that they are now planning to give up cultivation of vegetables altogether and stick to banana and coconut trees, farmers say. “They are risk-free. But if all farmers give up horticulture, there will be a food crisis soon,” adds Kandasamy.