More trouble is expected on May 2 at the Enumamula agricultural market when it opens after a gap of nearly one week.
The market is being kept closed on one pretext or the other only to avoid unpleasant scenes.
On April 27, hamali workers and traders took holiday stating that they have to attend the TRS public meeting, while Saturday and Sunday are holidays. May 1, being May Day, too is a holiday. Farmers view that the officials are deliberately trying to avoid farmers and are trying to divert them to other markets.
Market secretary A. Raju Naik was not available for comment and did not pick up the call when The Hindu tried to contact him.
On an average, about 50,000 bags of chilli was arriving at the market but now after the holidays, the arrivals could be much more on May 2 and there would be desperation among farmers to sell their produce and return home. However, the officials may not be able to handle the huge arrivals.
The present rate being offered for chilli ranges from ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 a quintal and even the high value varieties like Warangal Chatpat, which actually commanded ₹12,000 to ₹17,000 a quintal, is being bought by traders at ₹4,000.
Senior agricultural scientist R. Uma Reddy said of the total cultivable area of 12 lakh in united Warangal district, chilli was cultivated on one lakh acres. This is more than double of the normal extent. Usually, chilli is grown on 40,000 acres. Farmers opted for paddy on four lakh acres followed by cotton on six lakh acres.
“There will be trouble again if these chilli farmers going by this experience opt for cotton. Then the cotton price will come down. The best way for farmers is to support Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s crop colony concept where farmers should go by soil, area, demand - rather than blindly follow one the other,” Mr. Reddy said. He observed that the cost of cultivation of chilli varied from ₹40,000 to ₹ 1 lakh per acre.
There was no mechanisation in chilli and labour shortage severely affected farmers this year. If farmers get 35 quintals per acre, he should definitely get ₹8,000 per quintal and even more, else he would be severely burdened.
