It was a calculated risk for farmers, who brought their fields under nendran banana plantation as the water canals and the Cauvery went completely dry in January and February last. The groundwater table too went down to a new low due to poor monsoon.
But a few farmers in Tiruchi and Karur districts took the risk by planting the much sought after variety in Kerala, Maharastra and Karnataka. Their hopes have paid off and now they have begun harvesting the plaintains.
According to farmers, the harvest that began in the second week of February has gained momentum in Kallanai, Jeeyapuram, Perugamani, Sirugamani, Kuzhumani and Vayalur in Tiruchi district and Kulithalai and neighbouring villages in Karur district.
“It is certainly a big relief for me as I took a risk by bringing my two acres of land under banana cultivation when we were in distraught due to severe drought in 2016. I do not know whether I am going to gain or not, but I have got back what I spent,” says T. Dharmaraj of Kallanai.
But a section of farmers says that the yield has come down by half — as against the normal yield of 15 kg per bunch in Kallanai, Kilikoodu, Panayapuram and Thiruvalarcholai areas, it is only 8 kg.
In Perugamani, which is considered a high-yielding area due to fertility of soil and water resources, it is 16 kg against an average 30 kg per bunch.
“We irrigated our fields only by buying water and we paid a huge amount for it. In spite of it, we could not fully meet the water requirement for the healthy crop. It has resulted in poor yield,” Mr. Dharmaraj said.
But what is worrying the farmers is the low price offered to the banana. On Monday, banana merchants, camping in cultivable areas of Tiruchi district, offered ₹28 per kg. Under normal circumstances, the price would be considered remunerative.
Stating that only 30% of the cultivable area had been brought under nendran plantation, a farmer said less production and drop in cultivable area would generally shoot up demand in the market. But these factors did not impact the price offered to farmers so far. The reasons were best known only to the traders and middlemen.
