BHOPAL: For over a decade Pakistan has held the key to the prosperity of tomato farmers in Petlawad—the saffron citadel of Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. But the business has been hit now.
“It has been over a decade that tomato grown in our fields is exported mostly to the Pakistan market. While export was affected drastically in 2015, not even a single tomato was exported to Pakistan last year,” said tomato farmer Yogesh Patidar.
In fact, Patidar had tweeted to Pakistan federal minister for food security Sikandar Hayat Bosan on Thursday. Four days ago Bosan declared that his country would not import vegetables, including tomato from India.
In 2015, the trade ties between the South Asian neighbours were impacted due to a series of terror attacks, including the aftermath of Rawalpindi school massacre. In 2016, it was the terror attack at Uri and Pathankot, which destroyed the export of tomato from Petlawad to Pakistan.
This has impacted the lives of tomato farmers in about 15-20 villages of Petlawad, which has been electing BJP leader Nirmala Bhuria as its legislator since 1993. Irked over Pakistan’s decision, the tomato farmers burnt the effigy of Pakistan food security minister at Rajpuria village on Friday. The tomato season in Petlawad spans from October to March.
Another major tomato farmer Nathulal Patidar said, “Our tomatoes fetched up to `1,000-`1,200 per crate (each crate contains 25 kg tomatoes) in Pakistan, while the rate in major mandis, including Azadpur in Delhi was around `400-`600 per crate. We exported via an agent in Amritsar.” With export suffering a body blow, the area of cultivation of tomato in Petlawad, too, has been cut drastically from 25,000 acres to just 15,000 acres. Both Yogesh and Nathulal Patidar say the only way out is if the Modi government ensures an alternative market for the produce in the Middle East. “If the present situation continues, we might stop tomato farming,” they added.
When contacted, Jhabua district collector Ashish Saxena said that the state government was alive to the problems. “We’re helping around 500 farmers to form a company which will professionally negotiate with big corporate buyers to ensure proper market for the produce both nationally as well as internationally. The company will also help in preserving the perishable produce and grading it. Further, survey is underway to ascertain actual loss of crop due to Late Blight,” said Saxena.
How Things Stand
Last year, the bumper produce had to be sold at throwaway prices or dumped in fields