Tiruchirappalli (PTI): Banana, the poor man's fruit, is falling out of farmers' favour in central Tamil Nadu with many banana cultivators switching over to lucrative crops like paddy and sugarcane.

Higher labour and input cost, shortage of farm labourers, unremunerative prices and susceptibility of the crop to natural calamities have made it a less attractive option to go for banana cultivation, farmers say.

In the last few years paddy seems to be more attractive to the farmers in the districts of Tiruchirappalli, Karur and Perambalur, which form part of the Cauvery delta.

Besides, with the presence of four sugar mills in the region, sugarcane was considered a more viable crop than banana, says V Rajaram, Working President of Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association.

He said the total extent of area under banana cultivation in these districts had declined from 20,000-22,000 hectares in 2004 to 14,700 hectares in 2007.

G Ajeethan, a progressive farmer and General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation, said shortage of labour was a huge problem faced by the farmers. More and more farm labourers were preferring the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as the works under it were considered relatively easier than the farm work, he told PTI.

According to the National Research Centre for Banana, an institution set up here by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research to boost banana production in the country, Tamil Nadu ranks first among the states in terms of cultivation (about 92,000 hectares) while Maharashtra is in the top in terms of yield per hectare.

The popular varieties in this region are 'poovan', 'rasthali', 'nendhiran', which is in demand in Kerala for making its famous banana chips, 'karpooravalli' and 'robusta'.

Mr. Rajaram said the average expenditure per plant for poovan worked out to Rs 30-35 or Rs 16,000-Rs 20,000 per acre but when harvested after eight-nine months, the price realisation was only around Rs 40 for a single bunch with middlemen taking their share.

The nendrian variety, which has demand from Kerala for making the famous banana chips, required supportive poles and this adds up to the cost. Casurina or eucalyptus poles cost Rs 40 to Rs 50 each while the more sturdy and ideal bamboo poles were sold at Rs 100 per piece.

He laments that banana growers were not getting insurance cover for the crops which are often affected by rains and strong wind.

Around 25 per cent of farmers in the region had switched over to paddy as they would also have an added advantage of growing pulses or millets in between, he said.