KASHIPUR (SANGAREDDY DISTRICT): The high fluctuation in price of vegetables in the wholesale market has resulted in some farmers leaving the crop to rot in the field.
The sincere efforts of Janga Reddy and Venkatesh to cultivate good quality tomatoes on a three acre land, few metres away from the Kandi-Shankarapally road in this village, has gone waste. The farmers invested some ₹42,000 for mulching process apart from setting up drip irrigation system in their farms. They cultivated tomato in another five acres in the conventional method.
Low prices
By the time the crop was ready to be harvested the price of tomato crashed. The farmers were left with no option but to leave the crop to rot in the field. At the price prevailing in the market then they would not even realise the cost of harvesting and transport to the market. All the man days they have invested in the farm, labour cost and other investments have gone down the drain.
The case of Abdul Rehman, few kilometres away, is no different. He owns some four acres and he decided to take on lease another eight acres and he cultivated carrot in two acres and tomato in another two acres.
Rotting in the field
All his efforts yielded a bumper crop and he expected good returns. The fate did not favour him and market crashed.
The situation was so bad that the prevailing market price would not even cover the cost of harvesting and cleaning the crop for market. The crop has been in the field beyond 90 days and today the healthy-looking carrots have rotted inside.
For drip Mr. Rehman has invested ₹25,000 while ₹75,000 subsidy was offered by the government.
“I made a total investment of ₹25,000 for each acre and the accumulated loss for the crop is about ₹1 lakh. Every day I have to pay ₹200 for labour transport as they have to come from Sangareddy or Kandi,” Mr. Rehman told The Hindu .
He is regretting his having chosen to cultivate vegetables over cotton.
