Farmers hit due to poor demand, hailstorms
Vegetable growers forced to dump produce due to lack of buyers even as prices rise in city markets; recent hailstorms cause huge damage, CM assures compensation
RANCHI: Dilip Oraon (35) planted watermelons and tomatoes on 25 acres of land by selling his two buffaloes, expecting a good profit this season. However, he was forced to dump the produce on field instead of selling them due to lack of buyers in markets owing to the Covid19-induced lockdown.
“I am not finding buyers even if I sell at produce at ₹1 per kilogram. I do not know how to recover my investment cost,” said Oraon, a resident of Bagha village in Lohardaga district.
On the question of finding bulk buyers, Oraon said they refused to come as they claimed demand declined drastically during lockdown. “I have left my produce on the field, and it has started rotting,” he said.
Apart from Oraon, thousands of vegetable farmers were facing a similar crisis during the lockdown. Bottle gourds, pointed gourds, cucumbers, green chilies and lady finger growers were also fumbling for ways to recover their investment costs in absence of buyers.
Jharkhand imposed lockdown-like restrictions from April 22 in light of the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases due to the deadly second wave of the pandemic. The restrictions will be effective till May 13.
Another vegetable grower Basant Sahu from Gumla district said, “Yesterday, my father went to the local market to sell bottle gourds. But, he did not find any buyer even for three bottle gourds at ₹5. We are in for huge losses. The government
must come to our rescue.”
However, despite the steep fall in prices of vegetables in rural areas, urban people were forced to buy these produces at a higher price during lockdown. Pointed gourds and lady fingers were currently being sold at about ₹30 per kg, while cucumber hovered around ₹15 per kg. Other vegetables were also being sold at a higher price.
During the previous lockdown last year, when farmers were undergoing a similar crisis, the state Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) came forward to help them by selling their produce online through e-NAM portal.
State APMC secretary Abhishek Anand said, “Vegetable farmers across the state are facing buyer-related problems due to lack of demand. Last year, we helped selling their produce through e-NAM portal. But this time, wholesalers are not ready to buy produce due to poor demand in market.”
He said talks were on with big wholesalers for last few days. “We expect a positive result in a day or two,” he said.
When asked about the vegetable price rise in cities, he said, “Local bulk buyers or middlemen are purchasing the produce at a lower price from farmers and selling them at a higher price in cities.”
Agricultural experts said apart from lack of demand, vegetable farmers were also under stress of loss due to hailstorms that damaged large scale vegetable produces. Intermittent hailstorms for past five days have caused huge loss to vegetable growers in different parts of the state, including Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu and Hazaribagh.
Chief minister Hemant Soren, however, assured farmers to compensate the loss caused due to hailstorms. He, on Sunday, directed all districts to assess the damage and send detailed reports in this regard.