The low market price of the ‘nendran’ variety of plantains and the poor quality of the produce owing to climatic vagaries are the major concerns of plantain cultivators during the Onam season.
The spot price of the first grade ‘nendran’ variety was between Rs.43 and Rs.45 a kg at the Meenangadi market on Friday as against Rs.46- Rs.47 a kg during the corresponding period last year. The price of the second quality of plantain was Rs.34 a kg as against Rs.38 a kg in the previous year.
Though the input cost, including land rent, price of fertilizers, and labour cost, had increased considerably this year, the returns from the crop had declined sharply, said K. Jose, a marginal farmer at Karachal.
The prices are slightly better over the past one week, but farmers have little to cheer as they have suffered huge crop loss this year owing to incessant rain for nearly three months, farming sources said. The rain also adversely affected the remaining crop and its quality, the source added.
Last year, Mr. Jose had cultivated 500 plantains on one acre of land and 90 per cent of the produce was sold as first grade at a better price. This year he cultivated close to 1,000 plantains, of which 450 plantains were destroyed in rain-related calamities .When he harvested the remaining crops, he could hardly sell 20 per cent of the produce as first grade. According to data of the Agriculture Department, as many as 7,85,000 bunched and non-bunched bananas planted on 314 hectares were destroyed in monsoon-related calamities in the district this year.
