TN flower farmers smell loss as Kerala mutes Onam fiesta
COIMBATORE: The Wayanad disaster that killed more than 400 people in Kerala seems to have had a deleterious effect on neighbouring Tamil Nadu too as hundreds of flower farmers and traders in Coimbatore have been hit by the steep slump in price and quantum of flowers sent to Kerala for Onam festival this year.
The Kerala government had announced that there won’t be any Onam festival celebrations on Sunday this year due to the Wayanad disaster and urged people to help those affected in the landslides.
The festival widely celebrated in Kerala is the busiest season of the year for the farmers in Coimbatore. According to farmers, over 110 tonnes of flowers were sent to Kerala last year during Onam, but it has dropped to just 15 tonnes this year. One kg of marigold flower was sold for Rs 50 last year, but a 30kg flower bag gets just Rs 150 to Rs 200 this year, they said.
The Thondamuthur block in Coimbatore district is popular for its flower cultivation. Various flower varieties are grown in villages, including Molapalayam, Vadivelampalayam, Kalimangalam, Narasipuram and Veraliyur, in the block. The flowers grown here are sent to various parts of the country, including Kerala, and to cities across Tamil Nadu.
The Kerala government’s decision has affected the livelihood of a lot of people who are part of the floral trade, including farmers, traders, flower pickers, truck drivers, commission agents, and dealers in Coimbatore, sources said.
M Senthil Kumar, chairman, Perur Jai Hind Vegetable Farmers & Producers Organisation (FPO), told TNIE, “Over 300 farmers are part of our FPO and around 150 of them are flower farmers. Overall, there are about 400 floral farmers in the region. Different varieties of flowers are cultivated on about 300 acres of land.”
‘Price offered was not even one-third of money spent’
“Of the 300 acres, ‘globe amaranth’ (vadaamalli) is cultivated on about 150 acres as there is a huge demand for the flower in Kerala during Onam festival. As it’s a six-month-long crop, we plan well in advance and cultivate them. But this year, we were unable to harvest them due to lack of enough orders from Kerala,” Senthil Kumar said.
The farmer also said the price has also hit rock-bottom forcing farmers to leave the flowers unplucked on the trees. Those who had harvested the flowers faced huge losses as the price offered was not even one-third of the money spent, he said.
Speaking to TNIE, Coimbatore District Flower Traders Association president UVS Selva Kumar said, “Onam festival is a 12-day season for us and we used to send about 20 to 25 tonnes of flowers to Kerala. But this year, only two to three tonnes of flowers were being sent for Onam.
As big educational institutions, private companies, organisations and commercial entities have decided not to celebrate Onam, orders have dipped significantly. While traders are pained by the loss of business, farmers are the worst-hit.”