Tumakuru: “The production cost per acre comes to around Rs 1 to 2 lakh. About 30,000 kg can be harvested. If it fetches only Rs three to five rupees per kg in the market, how do we survive?”, asks a farmer Chikka Narayanappa from Chowdadenahalli in Kolar.
He said that that he cultivated tomato crop in about half an acre of land, but is able to recover only the production cost of Rs 2 lakh from 850 boxes of tomato.
Another farmer, Somanna from Naganahalli in Vemagal hobli of Kolar taluk told this correspondent that he cultivated the tomato crop in 5 acres of land thinking he might get a good price like last year, but he was able to get only Rs 10 lakh though he had grown export quality tomatoes. “I’m happy that I have recovered my investment, but hundreds of farmers did not get even the production cost this time”, said Somanna.
In fact tomato farmers are facing a price crash in the major cultivation belt of Kolar due to large-scale cultivation in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh.
Steep fall in prices is forcing some to abandon the harvest, a few are selling them at throwaway prices as there is no demand for it. A farmer Anand from Bangarpet taluk committed suicide on Monday as he was not able to get a good price.
In the APMC market on Tuesday, a kilo of tomato was being sold for as low as Rs. 3 as against Rs. 10 a week ago. The medium quality tomato is fetching Rs 7 per kg and export quality Rs 13.
According to Kolar APMC secretary G. Narayana Raju, “Large scale production made traders stop coming to Kolar as the vegetable is available in nearby state. The government never thought of setting up cold storage or food processing units in spite of Kolar said to the second largest tomato market in Asia.”
