TIRUCHY: Misfortune continues to haunt banana farmers. Due to various issues, including the severe price drop in the market for the fruit, many farmers here have shifted to alternative crops. As a result, banana cultivation has dropped over the past three years. As happened with the Pooven variety, Nendran bananas faced a severe price drop in Tiruchy with 1 kg selling for `5 to `10 in the market.
Banana farmers are still reeling from the effect of Cyclone Gaja after a series of successful seasons. Exports dropped because of the cyclone’s aftermath. In 2018, a major portion of banana cultivation was wiped out by the cyclone and in 2019, Nendran banana exports faced a steep decline. This year, the Poovan and
Nendran varieties have faced a drastic price drop. Though the actual area under banana cultivation was 8,500 hectares, in 2019, it came down to 7,000
hectares. In the district this year, banana is being cultivated on 6,091 acres. Speaking to TNIE, a senior Horticulture department official stated that apart from other reasons, urbanisation was a major cause of farmers giving up banana cultivation and shifting to paddy and other crops. Officials said awareness programmes have been organised to encourage farmers to be involved in the manufacture of value-added products.
Puliyur Nagarajan, president, Tamil Maanila Congress farmers’ wing, said, “One after another banana farmers have been dealt major blows in the past three years. Though farmers attempted to recover, they were left in debt. So, many farmers have given up banana cultivation and shifted to paddy and other crops.”
He added the government should fix the minimum support price for bananas and procure it. Bananas can be served as part of midday meals, he said.