Commercial crop farmers suffer major losses in floods

KAKINADA: Floods in Godavari River have left a huge burden on floriculture farmers and cultivators of commercial crops like banana, yam, chilli, papaya, turmeric, betel leaves and vegetables.

The main worry of these farmers is inability to recover losses for another year. They had invested lakhs on their flower and commercial crops. They expected to harvest their crops in August. But floods in July itself have ruined their hopes.

“For past three years, we have been incurring great losses. Though bananas gave a good yield in 2020–21, Covid-19 lockdown hit the market severely. We had to sell bananas for low prices. This year, banana and yam crops had indicated good yields than previous years.

We even had orders from traders for our harvests in August. But floods in July itself have shattered us,” lamented Nama Yesu Prasad of Ryali in Atreyapuram mandal. He cultivated banana over 20 acres, 15 acres taken on lease. But he has lost ₹2.5 lakh per acre on banana and yam crops. His chilli crop too has got damaged.

Karri Srinivasa Reddy of Komarajulanka in Ravulapalem mandal explained that banana prices have not been changed for the past 8–10 years, though daily wages that had been ₹300 per day have risen to ₹700 per day. He said he has incurred a loss of ₹1.50 lakh per acre on banana crop and ₹2.5 lakh per acre on yam crop. Yam farmer Kudupudi Srinivas said their plants have rotted after stagnating in floodwaters for more than one week.

Horticulture officer M. Anusha of Kothapeta division, which comprises Kapileswarapuram, Alamuru, Atreyapuram, Ravulapalem, Alamuru and Kothapeta mandals, said as per preliminary estimates, 1,019 hectares of yam and vegetables, 2,300 hectares of banana, 234 hectares of papaya, 90 hectares of flowers, 20 hectares of turmeric and 37 hectares of betel leaves have got damaged in the floods.