KENDRAPARA: After potato, now the price of tomato has gone down drastically in the district forcing the farmers to resort to distress sale of the vegetable. Tomato growers of the district are selling their produce for Rs 7-Rs 10 per kg much below Rs 25-Rs 35 a few months back.
With markets now flooded with tomatoes, the price has nose-dived. In the coming days, the farmers are anticipating that the price may go down further spelling further misery, said secretary of district unit of All India Krusaka Sabha, Padmalav Das.
The dip in price has affected farmers of Derabisi, Mahakalapada, Garadapur, Pattamundai, Aul, Rajkanika and Rajnagar blocks. Absence of cold storage adds to the problem of farmers. This apart, absence of market linkage and availability of better quality tomatoes sources from Andhra Pradesh have only added to the farmers’ problems.
Secretary of district unit of Krusaka Sabha, Umesh Chandra Singh said officials of Agriculture and Horticulture departments along with elected representatives must visit the villages to witness the predicament of farmers. “The authorities should fix a support price for tomatoes so that the farmers can recover their losses,” he said, adding if no steps are taken soon, the farmers will take to the streets as a mark of protest.