The slump in market for major farm produces such as rubber, coconut, and areca nut besides the government’s failure to disburse the procurement prices for cash crops on time have put farmers in dire straits.
The grim scenario has been accentuated with the shortfall in rainfall, forcing authorities to declare Kerala drought-hit.
The water levels are at a low in rivers and waterbodies and farmers are hoping for a reasonable northeast monsoon to recharge the depleted groundwater level.
Rubber growers are the worst hit, driven to dispose of their produce below Rs. 100 a kg as against Rs. 237 in April 2011. Their agony has been compounded after they failed to get Rs.150 a kg procurement price announced by the previous UDF government despite the LDF government earmarking Rs. 500 crore in the budget to ensure a reasonable procurement price.
Many farmers kept out
“The government is said to have made it clear that those who come out with top graded rubber are only eligible for the procurement price, thereby keeping out a large chunk of farmers who market RSS 4 graded rubber,” C. Rajesh Nambiar, a young farmer from Panathadi village told The Hindu .
With the rubber tapping season on, farmers apprehend a fall in rubber prices. They demand that the Centre and the State should intervene to address the slump, he said, adding that many farmers had kept away from extracting latex in view of the dull market.
Similarly, coconut is fetching between Rs.18 and 20 a kg in the market as against the Rs. 34 a kg received in April 2014, he said. To make things worse, the government had reduced the procurement quantity from 10 quintal to four per farmer.
High labour costs
With steep escalation in labour and cultivation costs, put at an average of Rs. 200 per tree a year, coconut cultivation has become unviable, he said.
Even though black pepper prices are at a reasonable high of Rs. 640 a kg, a host of diseases are plaguing pepper saplings leading to a sharp fall in production, Mr. Nambiar said. The delicately grown areca nut market has also come down with old ‘supari’ currently fetching in the range of Rs. 240 to Rs. 250 a kg as against the previous season’s tally of Rs. 280 to Rs. 320 a kg, he added.
