RAMANATHAPURAM: A special one-day seminar for farmers on driving the export of chillies through the Horticulture and Hill Crops Department was held at Abiramam in Kamudi block in Ramanathapuram on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the event, Collector Johnny Tom Varghese stated that agriculture has been the main industry in Ramanathapuram with chilly being the most-exported crop. "Generally, farmers enthusiastically engage in agricultural work using various technology for better efficiency.
However, when it comes to marketing the produce, there is very little planning involved. Farmers should take interest in marketing their products as much as producing them in order to gain proper profit and increase their production capacity in the future. To ensure that the products are well-received in the market at a suitable price, farmers should cultivate different crops based on the prevailing demand," he said.
He further stated that Ramanathapuram farmers excel in cultivating chilli, cotton and paddy crops, especially mundu chilli, which has a special demand in the market. "Considering the demand, many companies have shown interest to purchase chilli for exporting to various places and the government has implemented regulatory sales centres at six locations in the district to help the farmers sell the chill at a good price. When the price is low, the farmers can stock their products in the regulatory market storage facility and sell them when the price rises.
Similarly, several private companies have offered to sign contracts with the farmers in advance to purchase more chillies. Farmers should utilise these facilities to conveniently produce and sell their crops at the right price. They should participate in similar seminars and choose suitable companies to reap more benefits," the collector added while assuring that actions will be taken towards providing aid to farmers in the district towards improving the export of chilli.