Farmers of Pachamalai are up in arms against the syndicate of traders who fixes the prices of tapioca.
Tapioca is the major crop raised on Pachamalai, a row of low range hills part of the eastern ghat in Tiruchi district. It is estimated that farmers raise tapioca on about 3,000 hectares every year and Pachamalai accounts for more than 80 % of tapioca cultivation in the district.
Though the cultivation of tapioca is being viewed as an important livelihood opportunity of tribal farmers living on Pachamalai, many of them are sore over the fixing of prices for tapioca. They say that the syndicate of sago industries in Salem district and unavailability of standard weighing facility have been eating into their hard-earned profit.
The affected farmers utilised the opportunity to bring out the issue open when Collector K. Rajamani visited the tapioca fields in the hill station on Wednesday.
“We put all our money and energy to produce quality produce. However, we are kept in the dark on prices offered by the representatives or traders employed by the sago industries. They fix prices according to their whims and fancies. They offer a very low prices citing less content of starch. There is no transparency in procurement,” a farmer told the Collector.
They alleged that a group of buyers had been following a dubious system of weighing the produce with old and unchecked scales. The tribes would ultimately end up with losing a a portion of profit.
“We have been demanding the State government for long to set up a weigh bridge at a common and convenient location to ensure correct weight of tapioca. It will prevent the buyers from cheating the farmers. However, our demand has not been fulfilled yet,” another farmer said.
Mr. Rajamani, who gave a patient hearing to the grievances of farmers, said that a team consisting of senior officials of the Departments of Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing would be formed to study the issue in detail.
Moreover, immediate steps would be taken to set up a weigh bridge at a right location on Pachamalai to ensure that the tapioca sold by farmers is weighed properly and correctly.
