Farmers who missed the first sowing season owing to the change in climate at Kanthallur are trying to cope with the lockdown by sowing the seeds now. The land that had been kept fallow owing to the late arrival of summer rain now has garlic and potato seeds.
The farmers said that there was rain in the afternoon now and it prompted them to sow the seeds. “It is a delayed sowing as the land was unfit earlier owing to lack of rain,” said Veerapandi, a farmer. The rain is often scanty in the vegetable-cultivating village in the rainshadow area. Farmers cultivate the maximum area prior to the southwest monsoon, though it is below normal there. The second and third sowing are done in areas where irrigation and water availability are ensured.
Better price for garlic
Since the government launched an effort to get the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the hill garlic grown in Kanthallur, farmers were receiving a good price. It is one of the main items grown here and the better prices prompted them to start the cultivation now. Potato is another main crop there.
However, a major challenge the farmers faced was the shortage of seeds as they purchased them from the Mettupalayam market in Tamil Nadu. They were facing shortage of seeds because of the lockdown. The seeds were now purchased at a higher price.
Sivakumar, a farmer, said they purchased the seeds at a high price as they were being transported till the Chinnar check-post. He said that a kg of garlic seeds were sold to them at a price of ₹200 to ₹240 that was between ₹90 to ₹100 earlier. A 45-kg sack of potato seed, priced between ₹1,200 and ₹1,500, was earlier available at between ₹500 and ₹700.
He said they would have a delayed harvest as COVID-19 confined them to the village. Since the vegetables were always in demand, a delayed sowing might not affect them much, he said. Government agencies could have made arrangements for ensuring seeds during the lockdown, he added.
