Amid the lockdown, the Horticulture Department facilitated the marketing of about 165 tonnes of pineapples, grown by farmers in Dakshina Kannada, outside the State in the last fortnight.
The department ensured that the fruit from Belthangady and Moodbidri taluks in the district were sent to Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Wayanad.
The farmers in the two taluks, who had cultivated it on a large scale, had begun marketing the produce on small quantity from March itself.
But the lockdown later in the month dashed their hopes. If some faced transportation issues, many found it difficult to find wholesale purchasers.
“We started addressing both issues and we will continue to do it,” H.R. Nayak, Deputy Director, Department of Horticulture, told The Hindu .
Mr. Nayak said there were some large-scale farmers who found it difficult to market the pineapple that they harvested. The department contacted the wholesale purchasers in outside States and connected them with the farmers.
In some cases, the farmers who had themselves found purchasers could not transport the produce owing to the border issues. The department addressed it also.
He said that the farmers had cultivated Queen and Moreish varieties used for the table purpose. As the two varieties are not well suited for canning and processing, they need to be marketed without delay.
The Deputy Director said that 161 hectares are under pineapple cultivation in the district and the harvesting continues up to July. If farmers still faced any issues, they can contact the department which will arrange for the marketing.
Shaiju, a farmer who has grown pineapple on about 80 acres in Totattady village in Belthangady taluk, told The Hindu that the department helped in addressing the transportation issues and finding the market.
But owing to many factors linked to the lockdown the prices have dropped this year. The growers got between ₹40 and ₹44 a kg during the same season last year. Now the growers are getting only between ₹13 and ₹15 a kg.
“If pineapple cultivation needs to be profitable, farmers should get at least ₹30 per kg,” Mr. Shaiju said, adding that during the initial days of the lockdown, many farmers suffered loss as they were unable to find a market.
“I suffered a loss of ₹35 lakh for April alone,” he added.
