With total lockdown in place in Coimbatore city since Sunday, and wholesale vegetable traders shutting shop, vegetable growers in the district stare at huge losses.
The farmers say they face a lot of difficulties since the lockdown started and the quantity of vegetables sold to traders has come down in the last one month. The traders are unable to sell to other districts, States or to hotels and hostels, and hence their off take from the farmers has reduced. Further, the local vegetable mandis are shut in many places.
What has made the situation worse for many of them is the wholesale traders in Coimbatore city stopping purchase for the last three days. According to C. Padmanabhan, member of the pandhal vegetable growers association in Pollachi, he is getting calls from the farmers every day. So many farmers who grow the vine crops (pandhal vegetables), are destroying the vegetables with them as they have no buyers and are unable to stock it.
“I am speaking to the officials daily. We are looking at supplying directly to push cart vendors. But the quantity of vegetables with the farmers is huge. There are so many police check points while transporting the vegetables to Coimbatore. Can I call up the officials at each check point?,” he asks.
Kumarasamy, a vegetable grower at Thirumalayampalayam, Madukkarai block who has four acres under creepers such as bottle gourd, bitter gourd, and snake gourd, says he fears whether the vegetables with him will have to go to the cattle as feed. “I have one tonne vegetables in the farm,” he says.
Moorthy, another farmer near Madukkarai, says there are so many farmers in the district who are destroying the snake gourd plants as they are unable to sell the produce. The traders used to come to the farms every alternative day and take the vegetables. Now, they are not doing so. “The government is asking us to use the cold storage facilities. But where will go for the containers. Also, vegetables such as brinjal cannot be kept in the storage. Even if the farmers in Pollachi area tried to sell to local retailers in places such as Pollachi, the quantity with them is more than what the retailers can take,” he says.
Paramasivam, who has 15 acres in Theethipalayam under vegetables such as bitter gourd and snake gourd, buys from farmers across the district and is also a wholesale trader, say he has suffered ₹ 10 lakh loss in the last one month and baskets of vegetables in stock. “I am in this trade for more than 30 years. Never have I faced such a situation. I bring nearly five loads of vegetables to TK market every day. Two loads of it is for the local traders. For the last three days, I am not able to go anywhere to source the vegetables or even to my farm,” he says.
The farmers seek support from the district officials to transport the vegetables, to source inputs, and to sell the produce.
