Forced To Sell At Rs 2 For 15 Kgs, Karnataka Farmers Dump Tomatoes On Roadside
The ongoing lockdowns in several states to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having some unintentional consequences as well.
Across the country, farmers especially those who had cultivated vegetables are struggling to harvest them and take them to the market on time.
In addition to this, there is also the issue of low prices, which the farmers say is not enough to recover their investment, let alone make some profit.
In the past couple of days, videos have surfaced from Kolar in Karnataka showing farmers dumping truckloads of tomatoes on the roadside due to low prices.
'Won't even cover the market cost'
The farmers said that they were being offered Rs 2 for 15 kgs, which won't even cover the transport cost.
According to farmers due to the lockdown and restrictions on interstate transport, the number of trucks going from Karnataka to states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have reduced, which has resulted in the low demand in the market.
It is not just vegetable growers in Karnataka that have been struggling to sell their produce. Even flower farmers in Kolar had recently dumped loads of their produce on the road.
With the flower shops remaining closed in Karnataka due to the lockdown, the farmers have failed to sell their produce.
Last week, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had announced over Rs 1,250 crore relief package for those whose livelihood has been affected by COVID-19 induced lockdown.?
Listing out details of the relief package, the CM said Rs 10,000 relief will be given to growers for per hectare loss. It will benefit about 20,000 farmers and may cost Rs 12.73 crore.
For the losses suffered by fruit and vegetable growers, Rs 10,000 per ha financial relief will be given to growers, limiting it to one hectare. He said this will benefit about 69,000 farmers and may cost Rs 69 crore.
