The increase in procurement price of cabbage to ₹26 a kg has brought cheer among farmers in Talavadi hills, who have stepped up cultivation in the hope of more profit in the coming months.
Farming is the major activity in the hilly area, which is located along the border with Karnataka and 120 km from Erode. Cabbage is cultivated in most of the villages in Talavadi. It takes about two to three months to produce mature heads after which the crop is harvested.
“Since favourable climate prevails here and the crop has relatively short growing season, it is preferred by most of the farmers”, said S. Manickam, a farmer. He said that usually, traders bought cabbage at ₹2 to ₹4 a kg. Even when there was demand, they bought it from the farmers at not more than ₹10 or ₹12 a kg. “But now, farmers had sold it at ₹26 a kg”, he added.
Since farmers were not getting the right price for cabbage, many had moved to alternative crops leading to sharp decline in production that led to increase in price. Many farmers said that from March to July, when the COVID-19 lockdown was in force, most of the cabbage could not be marketed and were left to rot on the fields.
“After seeing good prices for cabbage in September, many farmers cultivated it, which will be harvested in November”, said M. Channanjamurthy of Gumatapuram. “The procurement price of over ₹25 a kg [for the produce in stock] is historic”, he said. The price would drop only after harvesting begins next month, he said.
It takes 90 days for crop to be fit for harvest, and is grown widely on half-acre to one-acre fields by each farmer. Traders fix prices and take it from the field. “We can earn additional ₹5 to ₹ 7 a kg if we sell cabbage directly at wholesale markets. But arranging labour and transportation is difficult”, said a farmer.
