DHARMAPURI: As tomato prices take a hit, farmers from Palacode urged the government to set up businesses or industries that require tomatoes as key raw material.
Over the past week, tomato prices in the district have been taking a nose dive with a kilogram being sold at Rs 20. Only a month ago the prices were between Rs 50 and Rs 80 per kg.
Farmers said, “In Dharmapuri, tomatoes are primarily cultivated by small-scale farmers who own less than an acre of land for livelihood. To encourage these farmers, the government must take steps to set up industries like sauce, jam, and other food item manufacturing companies that need tomatoes as raw material.”
P Ganesh, a farmer from Palacode told TNIE, “A kilogram of tomato is procured at Rs 18 and is being sold at Rs 25 in the market. A price drop is primarily due to increasing supply. Last month’s prices were high because rain hampered tomato production, causing a reduction in supply.”
S Kannan, from Marandahalli, said, “We need industries to support tomato farmers. Over 6,000 hectares of land are used to cultivate tomatoes but our marketing avenues are limited. We can sell these only in private markets. So, profits are meagre. If we had local industries involved in producing pickles, jams, sauce, and other value-added products, the price would stabilise in the market.”
R Sugumar, another farmer from Palacode, told TNIE, “Erratic climatic conditions and increase and decrease in prices have made cropping a problem. Hence, farmers are asking the government to assess the situation and provide a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for tomatoes.”
When TNIE spoke to officials in the Horticulture department, they said, “Tomatoes grown locally are unsuitable for making tomato products. As far as industries are concerned, farmers can take new enterprises and we would assist them. The government can’t take up such endeavours.”