Raghu, a young farmer from Koravihal village in Raichur taluk, was in for a shock on Wednesday morning when he reached the wholesale market at 4.00 a.m. with a load of vegetables. The prices of vegetables that had begun to fall a few weeks ago continued to show a downward trend. As taking the perishable produce back home would require spending a few more thousands, Raghu had no choice but to slash his prices. He ended up selling ridge gourd at Rs. 80 for a 20 kg bag, bitter gourd at Rs. 25 for a 15 kg bag and green brinjal at Rs. 60 for a 10 kg bag. He earned only about Rs. 1,500 which was almost equal to the money he spent on harvesting and transportation.
“I have spent Rs. 35,000 on cultivating vegetables on two acres of land. I received only Rs. 8,000 by selling the crop so far and may get another Rs. 7,000 by harvesting the remaining crop. At the end, I will incur a loss of around Rs. 20,000,” he said.
Other vegetable farmers had similar tales of woe. When this reporter observed the auction of different vegetables held between 5.00 a.m. to 5.30 a.m, it was found that the prices of all vegetables were down: tomato was priced at Rs. 80 for a 25 kg bag, cucumber at Rs. 100 for a 20kg bag, cauliflower at Rs.100 a bag of 10 pieces and green chilli at Rs. 100 for 10 kg bag.
“I have stopped harvesting green brinjal as it did not fetch m even the transportation costs last week when I had to sell it for Rs. 30 for a bag of 10 kg,” Venkatesh, a farmer from Ele Bichhali village, said.
Traders attribute the price fall to glut. Vegetables arrive from Shanti Nagar in Andhra Pradesh, Aija, Gadwall and Hyderabad in Telangana, and Chintamani and Belagavi in Karnataka, apart from the villages along the banks of the Tungabhadra and the Krishna in the district.
“Green chilli was sold at Rs. 600 for a bag of 10 kg a few weeks ago. Now, the price has dropped to Rs. 100 due to excess,” Aarif Hussein, a trader, said.
No benefitsWhen this reporter visited the only retail market two hours after the wholesale trading, it was found that the vegetables were being sold at much higher prices: ridge gourd at Rs. 40 a kg (wholesale price: Rs. 4), bitter gourd at Rs. 20 a kg (wholesale price: Rs.1.60 a kg), green brinjal at Rs. 20 a kg (wholesale price: Rs. 6). tomato at Rs.10 a kg (wholesale price: Rs. 3.20), cucumber at Rs. 30 a kg (wholesale price: Rs. 5), cauliflower at Rs. 40 a piece (wholesale price: Rs. 10) and green chilli at Rs. 20 a kg (wholesale price: Rs.10).
No regulationIn the absence of a statutory body to regulate the prices of perishable crops, the district authorities are exploring the possibility of safeguarding the interests of farmers and consumers by eliminating all the middlemen involved.
“Opening farmers’ markets where common people too can purchase vegetables directly from farmers is one option. It has been successful in Tamil Nadu and we are thinking of opening similar markets in Raichur,” S. Sasikanth Senthil, told The Hindu.
