Resolve crisis of tapioca farmers: MLA Prasad
KOCHI: In a letter sent to Agriculture Minister P Prasad, Kothamangalam MLA Antony John urged him to take immediate steps to resolve the crisis of tapioca farmers in his constituency. He said in the Kothamangalam assembly segment, many farmers are cultivating tapioca collectively in more than 100 hectares of land. “At a time when they are getting ready to harvest the tapioca, the lockdown and adverse weather have affected them resulting in low prices and severe damage to crops,” said Antony John.
Tapioca, in the retail market, was going strong at `30 to `40 per kilogram when the lockdown hit the lives of farmers. Now, wholesale dealers are not ready to procure it even at `6 per kilogram, one of the farmers said.
Meanwhile, the MLA said nearly 200 tonnes of tapioca is yet to be procured from farmers. “I hope the government will take steps to procure tapioca from these farmers through Horticorp, VFPCK and other agencies of the agriculture department,” he said.