Kerala's 'Pineapple Town' Sends Truckload Of Their Fruits To The Farmers Protesting In Delhi
As the ongoing farmers protest in Delhi enter its second month, the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who are currently holding sit-ins along the borders of the national capital are receiving support and love from across the country.
Every day there are more and more people who are traveling from various corners of India to express their support to the protesting farmers, mostly from Punjab, while others chip in with small contributions of their own, to pledge their solidarity.
Now a group of pineapple farmers from Kerala has sent a truckload of pineapples to Delhi to show their support to the protesting farmers.
The nearly 20 tonnes of fruits were sent by the Pineapple Farmers Association on Thursday and the truck was flagged off by Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar in Vazhakulam, a small town in Ernakulam District, known as the Pineapple city.
According to the Pineapple farmers of Vazhakulam, it was their way of showing their appreciation to the farmers from Punjab, who are protesting to save the interest of the agrarian community across the country.
Vazhakulam Pineapple, which is GI-tagged, is grown in and around Vazhakulam town, which is also home to Asia's largest pineapple market and a pineapple research center.
During the peak season, around 1400 tonnes of pineapples are dispatched across the country from the fruit markets of Vazhakulam.
Like many other crops, pineapple growers in Vazhakulam too have been hit badly by the lockdowns and financial crisis, which has been caused by a drop in demand.
In August this year, a pineapple farmer from Vazhakulam had committed suicide due to mounting debts.
The farmer, identified as Anil was growing pineapples at leased land, and due to the slump in demand after the COVID-19 crisis, he had suffered massive losses and had a debt of around Rs 50 lakhs.?
