Perambalur farmers complain about rising cost of raising Maize and cotton crops

Farmers cite reasons ranging from the rise in wages of farm labourers to soaring prices of fertilisers, pesticides and weedicide as cause for concern.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo| EPS)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo| EPS)

PERAMBALUR: Maize and cotton farmers are concerned about getting a fair price for their crops this year, and urged the government to open direct procurement centres to ensure minimum support price.

Farmers cite reasons ranging from the rise in wages of farm labourers to soaring prices of fertilisers, pesticides and weedicide as cause for concern.

According to sources, maize is one of the major crops raised by the farmers in the water-scarce Perambalur district. Maize coverage in the district has been over 65,000 acres while cotton is raised in over 10,000 acres this year. The weeding process usually begins 20 days before harvest. However, farmers said there has been a shortage of manpower for weeding due to wage issues relating to the workers. The prices of weedicides have also gone up, they added.

Cotton farmers are also looking at weeding machines as an alternative. But, these machines are privately owned and there is a huge demand for them. This might force farmers to wait for a long time to get the machines to their fields.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, A Duraisamy, a farmer from Kurumbapalayam said, "I have planted maize on my one-acre land. I have to carry out the weeding, but there is a shortage of manpower. Workers demand a higher wage of Rs 400 to Rs 500 a day against the earlier Rs 250. Many of them prefer to work under MGNREGS. So, I plan to spray weedicide myself. The sad part is their prices have also gone high. During the initial stages of cultivation, our crops are vulnerable to fall armyworms. We have to use pesticide to prevent this. If we plant once, we are forced to apply weedicide and pesticides twice. Fertilizer have to be used for sufficient growth of the crop. When the cost of all these inputs has all gone up, how can we expect any profit? So, the government should help us get good prices for our crops."

Another farmer, N Vanavarayan from Perambalur, said, "I have planted cotton on my two acres. We have to resort to weeding machines as we do not have the manpower. But, we have to wait for a long time to get the machine. Then, there is the transportation cost. There are new machines, which are sold at higher prices. So if the government subsidizes this machine, farmers might be able to buy them. As the Perambalur regulatory market is not functioning properly, we are dependent on private traders and middlemen every year. We are forced to sell cotton and maize at the price set by these traders."

When contacted, an official from Perambalur Agriculture Department said, "We have a lot of schemes to help maize and cotton farmers. As regards maize, farmers got a good price from traders last year. The situation will remain the same for two more years. We are inspecting maize fields for fallarmy worms."

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com