DHARMAPURI: To improve the profits of tomato farmers in Dharmapuri district, the Agriculture Marketing Department and Agri-Business (AMDAB) has tied up with two Farmer's Producer Organisation (FPO) with 1,000 members each and is conducting trade via the online portal e-NAM (National Agriculture Market).
Tomatoes are one of the most commonly grown crops in Dharmapuri district, owing to their short growth period and requirement of low water levels. Tomatoes are cultivated in an area of about 6,172 hectares in the district and due to the large-scale cultivation in the district, farmers usually trade their produce in private markets in Palacode or Royakottai in Krishnagiri district.
However, in most cases, the tomatoes are priced poorly and the farmers are exploited by middlemen. Hence, they sought AGDAB's help in selling their produce, following which, two FPGs have been providing 6.1 tonnes of tomatoes via e-NAM to markets in Salem daily. Farmers stated that they are getting more profits due to this.
Muthamil, a tomato farmer from Palacode told TNIE, "We find it difficult to sell tomatoes, especially in private markets due to middlemen. For example, while the market price of 1 kg tomato is Rs 14 at Ulavar Sandhai, we merely make a profit of Rs 4 or 5 per kg. Hence, we approached the AGDAB and are now getting profits of Rs 9 to 10 per kg."
Another farmer, Nellikani from Marandahalli said, "The AMDAB buys tomatoes from us at market value and deducts a portion of the cost, which includes transportation, packaging, marketing and service charges. We are charged Rs 5 for this, but despite this, we earn more than double that in the private market."
Deputy Director of AMDAB Balasubramaniam told TNIE, "Through the e-NAM portal, we can easily identify markets outside a district and help in trading their crops. Here middlemen have no way of exploiting farmers and there is more transparency in trade."
"In this case, Salem market requires over 22 tonnes of tomatoes daily. But the production in Salem does not meet the requirements. So through e-NAM, we identified potential FPOs and brought their tomatoes to Salem. Around 7 to 9 tonnes of tomatoes are brought to Salem from Dharmapuri daily. This trade through e-NAM has ensured that people are not in short supply of crops or vegetables," he added.