KOLAR/TUMAKURU: Cyclone Mandous has destroyed ready-to-harvest crops in Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru districts, pushing farmers into distress. In particular, tomato and ragi crops have been affected the most and there is now a threat of prices of these commodities going up.
Only small amounts of sweet corn and tomato have been harvested and sent to markets, farmers said. As the ragi crop in vast swathes of land has been destroyed, dairy farmers to are likely to be affected as ragi stalks are used as fodder for cattle throughout the year.
The Kolar APMC, which is the second biggest market for tomatoes in Asia, received only 1,866 quintals of tomato on Sunday, while on any normal day it gets upwards of 10,000 quintals. But the price remained at a low of Rs 360 per 15kg crate.
‘Flower growers too suffer losses’
APMC Secretary Vijayalakshmi said many trucks, which transport a majority of the produce to Tamil Nadu, have not received enough stocks and are waiting for tomatoes to arrive over Monday and Tuesday. A young farmer, Murali, in Shetty Halli near Srinivasapura of Kolar district, has lost the entire sweet corn crop on his six-acre land.
“After waiting for two-and-a-half months, my crop has been destroyed completely because of the cyclone. I was getting ready to harvest it just 10 days from now,” he said. Deputy Director of Horticulture Kumaraswamy said even flower growers have suffered losses. Horticulture Department officials have been told to visit affected areas and to educate farmers on preventing fungal infections because of the inclement weather, he added.
No cold storage for onions in Gadag
Despite being the biggest onion producer in North Karnataka, Gadag lacks efficient cold storage facilities. The district’s Agriculture Market Produce Committee had begun constructing two cold storage units, which are yet to be completed. As a result, farmers are struggling to store the crop amidst incessant rain, and have accordingly demanded the authorities address the issue at the earliest. In the Gadag district, onion is grown on over 5 lakh hectares of land.