Middlemen Exploit Banana Farmers in Godavari Dists
ELURU:The banana farmers of the Godavari districts are now in doldrums. The farmers, who expected good profits, are incurring huge losses due to an artificial crisis created in the market by the middlemen.
The prices of banana came down considerably from Rs 11,000 per tonne during last week to Rs 8,000 ton this week. According to farmers, the prices are being controlled by a few middlemen who are purchasing the crop at a lower price and selling it for anywhere between Rs 16,000 and 20,000 per tonne. “The crop came for harvesting at the right time, but the prices fell drastically due to the middlemen. We have no option but sell the crop to the middlemen,” lamented Yarramsetti Ramakrishna Rao of Chintalapudi in West Godavari district. If the prices do not increase in a week, the farmers have no option but commit suicide, he added.
Furthermore, the Godavari districts did not record any banana exports this year. The farmers are alleging that the government did not announce any minimum support price for bananas, which do not have the option of storage, and are demanding the government’s intervention in this regard.
The East and West Godavari districts, which are popular as the ‘rice bowls’ of Andhra Pradesh, are also famous for banana plantations. Encouraged by last year’s higher yield and good income, the farmers cultivated banana varieties this year in an extent of 60,000 hectares (50,000 hectares in East Godavari and 10,000 hectares in West Godavari). They planted the green banana variety in 4,000 hectares and normal variety in about 6,000 hectares in West Godavari. In East Godavari, they raised normal banana variety in 30,000 hectares and green variety in 20,000 hectares.
Normally, the banana crop comes for harvesting over 14 months’ period. Farmers have to invest Rs 1.50 lakh towards plantation, pesticides and labour charges. To get a high yield, a majority of the farmers planted tissue G9 variety of banana, as per the scientists’ suggestions, for this variety yields 20 to 30 tonnes of banana per acre. Traders from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu besides those from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore cities purchase banana in wide range from both the districts.
Speaking to TNIE, horticulture assistant director G Vijayalakshmi said that green banana and normal banana varieties are planted across both the districts and are yielding good crop. The demand has decreased drastically due to the Godavari Maha Pushkarams and ‘Ashadham’ month. At present, the rate per tonne is recorded at Rs 5,000 to 6,000, which is half the last month’s rate.