The mid-December rain last year that caused severe flooding has halved the production of red chilli in Thoothukudi district. The crop occupies the largest area next to foodgrains in the coastal district.
Red chillies are grown on 16,019 hectares, with 14,386 hectares in Vilathikulam taluk and 978 hectares in Ottapidaram taluk.
“Red chilli is cultivated mostly under rain-fed conditions in black cotton soil known for its water absorption and retention capacity. The crop is raised during the rabi season coinciding with the northeast monsoon between October and December,” says P.N. Ezhil, secretary, marketing committee, Tirunelveli.
The duration of the red chilli crop ranges from six to seven months, yielding 1.20 tonnes per hectare in case of mundu (a short bold variety or gundu vaththal) and two tonnes in the case of samba (a long slender variety) under rain-fed conditions to produce not less than 24,000 tonnes annually. Prices fluctuate depending on demand. However, the average price hovers around ₹150 to ₹180 per kg. The market turnover of red chilli is approximately ₹350 to ₹400 crore per annum.
However, the mid-December downpour has crushed the fortunes of red chilli farmers.
“I got an yield of 35 quintal from five acres last year. But this year, it is only 17 quintals from the same area. I spent ₹60,000 per acre last year, but the expenditure has risen to ₹75,000 this year due to pest attack triggered by rain. The market price also has gone down from last year’s ₹22,000 per quintal to ₹16,000 per quintal,” says M. Balamurugan of Arasankulam in Vilathikulam taluk.
Mr. Balamurugan has also suffered another loss due to flooding in Vaippar river, which has wiped out the red chilli cultivated on another 2.75 acres.
“We spent over ₹80,000 for planting saplings. But the overflowing of Vaippar river for three days wiped out the field,” says B. Kannan, a BBA graduate and son of Mr. Balamurugan.
P. Muniyasamy, a farmer of Kulathoor too faces similar situation after flood water gushing out from the breached Kulathoor tank destroyed the red chilli on his three acres. “I lost ₹50,000 ,” he says.
The only solace to the farmers is the Agriculture Department’s regulated market through which they can sell their produce for the best price. The transaction shed of the market is used by farmers and traders for transactions.
“The transaction is completed within two to three days. The farmers and traders are not charged any rent for the use of the shed. The farmers get the right price and the quantity remains assured without room for any malpractices since there are no commission agents,” Ms. Ezhil says.
In addition, the farmers and traders are benefitted by the godowns of the market for long-term storage at the rate of 10 paise per quintal per day until they get remunerative prices. The airconditioned godown available on Vilathikulam Regulated Market campus is used for storing chilli to prevet discolouration.
“The Primary Processing Centre in the regulated market has machinery for grading, sorting and de-stemming the chilli so that these value additions add to its sale price. Apart from the machinery, women labourers on an average of 30 per day are employed in the daily activities such as cleaning, sorting and packing. The packed chillies are moved to various parts of the country like Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and West Bengal,” says Ms. Ezhil.
