KARUR: Hundreds of drumstick farmers in Karur are staring at a huge loss as the recent rains that lashed the district have led to the shedding of flowers that develop into the vegetable. The demand for tasty Aravakurichi drumsticks from various southern States of Telangana, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, continues to be high, but a combination of rains and winter dew dampened their prospects.
“After banana and betel leaves, drumstick is one of the largest cultivated crops in Karur district. Farmers in over 25 villages in the Aravakurichi region have been cultivating drumsticks on over 30,000 acres and the heavy rains over the past few days have caused the flowers on the trees to fall off. Due to this, we won’t be able to get any drumsticks for the next season as the flowers which develop into drumsticks are gone now,” says Natarajan, a farmer from Aravakurichi. He said the winter dew was also taking a toll on the drumstick cultivation.
Another farmer, Chinnasamy of Esanatham said, “It’s a double whammy for us as the heavy rains not only made the flowers fall off but also damaged the drumsticks that were to be harvested in the next few days. The government must provide us with relief to compensate for the loss.”
Karur block Horticulture Department Assistant Director Rajavel said, “Around `45 lakh fund was allotted for 100 hectares in Krishnarayapuram and Kulithalai under the Integrated Farming System. But due to the monsoon, those funds were shifted to the Paramathi and Aravakurichi blocks. A farmer can get a subsidy of `45,000 for one hectare under the IFS scheme.”