PTI | | Posted by Pathi Venkata Thadhagath
Tomato and onion growers are a fearful lot because the bumper harvest has led to a crash in costs within the state. The Kolar district fruits and vegetable growers wrestle committee has demanded the federal government announce a minimal assist value for onion and tomato growers to safeguard the pursuits of farmers.
Based on sources within the Yeshwanthpur Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Yard right here, onion costs had dropped to someplace between ₹2 per kg and ₹10, a number of days in the past. Nevertheless, it has now stabilised within the vary of ₹12 to ₹18 per kg relying on the standard of the produce. “Even ₹12 a kg is a pittance for all our hardship. A good quantity goes in transportation, loading and unloading and funding made on rising the crop,” an onion grower in Bengaluru rued. Individuals bringing their produce from remote areas with a hope of getting a superb value had been a disillusioned lot. Farmer Pavadeppa Hallikeri from Thimmapura in Gadag district in North Karnataka received a superb onion harvest and as an alternative of promoting it on the Gadag APMC Yard, he determined to promote it in Bengaluru. On reaching Bengaluru market with 205 kg of onions on November 22, he received to know that the value crashed within the metropolis to ₹two per kg. Thus, he received ₹410 and he needed to pay ₹401.64 because the unloading expenses. He received solely ₹8.36 in hand, and a photograph picture of his payments has now gone viral in social media.
“It was a mistake to develop onions and take it to Bengaluru for good return,” the onion grower instructed reporters. Hallikeri stated for farmers from his area it was double whammy – there have been floods within the area and the value crash. The woes of tomato producers from South Karnataka are not any totally different from onion growers from north Karnataka. Based on Manjunath, a wholesale vegetable seller in KR Market right here, tomatoes are being offered from ₹5 to ₹six per kg within the wholesale market whereas in retail, the costs are between ₹8 and ₹12 per kg.
The Kolar district fruits and vegetable growers wrestle committee president Neelaturu Chinnappa Reddy has demanded that the federal government announce minimal assist value for onions, potatoes and tomatoes. “We vegetable growers are in tears. For all of the onerous work, labour, funding and months of ready, we’re hardly getting a return of ₹1.5 for every kilogram of tomatoes today. For 2 quintals of tomatoes grown, we’re getting solely ₹300,” Reddy instructed PTI.