MUNNAR: Onam is round the corner but a pall of gloom prevails in the vegetable bowl of Kerala. Putting behind the havoc wrought by two consecutive floods that ravaged the state, the vegetable farmers of Vattavada and Kanthalloor had pinned their hopes on the Onam market to recover from the debt trap. But the COVID-induced lockdown and monsoon fury have shattered their hopes.
Tonnes of bush beans, carrots, cabbage and other vegetables have been destroyed in heavy rain that lashed the hill station during the past two weeks. Besides, traders stopped procuring vegetables from the farmers as most of the markets are closed to contain the rapid spread of the pandemic.
"We used to get Rs 30-35 per kg of carrot during Onam season. But this time we have been ruined. The carrot will be mature for harvest in 80 days. We delayed the harvest by 20 days waiting for the traders. The crop started rotting and we are desperate. Some traders have arrived now but they are offering only Rs 9-12 per kg," said Damodaran, a farmer at Yellapetty near Vattavada.
Vijay, an automobile engineering student at Coimbatore, has returned to his home at Yellapetty and is helping his father in the farmland. "I returned from Coimbatore as the college was closed due to lockdown. COVID-19 and the lockdown have crippled our families and there's no income," he said.
Vijay's father Manoharan who sells carrots to the traders at Aluva market in Ernakulam district says they are not willing to procure vegetables due to the lockdown. "The traders say people are not coming to the market. We are not even getting the input cost and the government is not offering any help. We are disposing of the stocks though the price is abysmally low," said Manoharan.
The Vattavada and Kanthalloor garlic are in high demand but this time the price has plummeted dashing the hopes of farmers. "The garlic was sold at the rate of Rs 400 per kg last year, but now the traders are offering only Rs 150. Only a few traders have contacted us and the demand is low," said Abraham Jose, a farmer at Vattavada.
"I have lost seven acres of cabbage, beans and carrot due to the rains this time," said T N Sukumaran, a farmer at Kanthalloor. "Traders are not approaching us and there is no bus service to send vegetables to the market. Truck drivers are not willing to transport the vegetables to Tamil Nadu due to fear of COVID-19. There's no income and we are desperate," said Sukumaran.