BHUBANESWAR: With crops in vegetable growing belts of coastal Odisha suffering extensive damage in cyclone Fani, prices have shot up in the Capital City.
Vegetable prices at the wholesale Unit-I market have almost doubled with pointed gourd, lady’s finger, tomato and brinjal rising from `30, `20, `25 and `20 a kilo to `55, `50, `50 and `40 respectively over the last few days.
While spine gourd and beans are priced at `80 and `120 respectively, papaya is being sold for `30 to `40 per kg and drumstick at `60 to `80. Those prices were almost half last week. Similarly, ginger is being sold at `140 a kg and garlic at `120.
This has been attributed to the crop damage in Puri and Khurda districts that supply local varieties of fresh vegetables to Bhubaneswar. general secretary of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda said since large tracts of vegetable fields in Puri have been damaged, the City market is now dependent on supply from Barabati in Jajpur district. The demand and supply gap is likely to prevail till the arrival of monsoon crops, he said.
The farmers of Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara are the worst sufferers along with those in Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Balasore districts. According to preliminary estimate, 13,698 hectare (ha) of vegetable crop and 24,779 ha of fruit including 6,625 ha of coconut plantation and 1,650 ha of standing banana crop have been damaged in the cyclone.
The storm has also badly affected paddy straw mushroom cultivation. Odisha is the largest producer of paddy straw mushroom in the country. More than 5,000 mushroom growers and as many betel leaf farmers in Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Cuttack districts have been affected.
Director of Horticulture Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya said coconut, betel vines, banana and vegetables are the main sources of income for farmers in the coastal districts and Fani has dealt a death blow to them. “The farmers who took pains to grow crops like exotic flowers and vegetables under protected conditions like inside greenhouses and shade-net houses have suffered massive losses. A large number of structures erected in departmental farms and nurseries have also been severely damaged,” he said.
Around 2.16 lakh sq metre of protected structures have been damaged. The farmers are in a quandary as they had availed huge loans to erect those structures and grow high value-based horticultural crops. The department has sought `85 crore assistance for input subsidy and repair of farms and nurseries.