WARANGAL: With shortage of cash to pay labourers for harvesting, fertilisers, pesticides and transportation, banana plantation farmers in the erstwhile Warangal district are grappling with after effects of demonetisation. The demonetisation has hit banana growers and traders as prices of the fruit have fallen sharply as farmers seek to sell their produce quickly.
If on one hand they are facing problems in arranging cash for labourers, on the other hand fertilisers and pesticide dealers are not accepting higher denomination notes making their work even more difficult. “We are facing problem from both labourers and fertiliser dealers. The shops engaged in selling agricultural inputs are not accepting demonetised currency neither are the labourers accepting it,” Sai Reddy, who has a banana plantation in Urugonda village in Warangal (Rural) district told Express.
Reddy, who has been in banana plantation since over a decade, says the market is very competitive and if one delays in bringing his produce he would lose business. Hence, the delay in harvest will be very detrimental, he said.
Banana plantation farmers in Mangapet, Nizampalli, Gudipahad and Singaram areas are facing similar problem.
“These are difficult times for us as we are neither able to pay to our labourers nor to farm input dealers. Even the traders are not cooperating with us. In the last two weeks we have suffered a huge loss as we were not able to cut our produce due to lack of cash. The bank is also not allowing us to withdraw enough cash in lower denomination forcing us to delay in making payments to worker and dealers,” K Sambaiah, the caretaker of a huge banana plantation in Gudipahad village said.
Banana being a perishable produce, both farmers and wholesale dealers have been seeking to sell their stocks quickly to raise cash ever since demonetisation and in the process brought down the prices of the produce.
“Though banana prices tend to dip during this period, demonetisation has caused a further fall,” a trader in Warangal city said.
Besides currency crisis, the farmers are also facing the issue of wild boar. The wild boars are causing huge losses to farmers, as their attacks on crops are damaging. An attack on a banana field at the tasselling stage can wipe out 50 per cent of the standing plants, says Reddy. “They are frequently attacking our farms and damaging our crops. We have to hire 4 to 5 workers to protect our plantation. This is putting additional burden on us. Now, with demonetisation we are not able to pay them on regular basis,” he added.
Banana farmers are urging the government to allow them to draw enough cash from the bank to run their day-to-day activities necessary for banana cultivation.