TIRUPPUR: Banana farmers are severely upset, as strong winds and rain have destroyed the harvest in the Tiruppur district for the past three months. Around 339 farmers have been affected for the past three months due to the gale.
According to Horticulture Department records, strong winds destroyed several parts of Tiruppur district including Avinashi, Palladam, Avinashipalayam, Udumalaipet for the past three months. Five spells of rain in March and April months had damaged 252 acres, two spells of rain in the fourth week of May had damaged 82 acres.
Speaking to TNIE, S Chandrakumar (49) a farmer said, "I had planted bananas for more than four acres and I had grown more than 3,500 banana trees in the farmland in Azhagumalai village near Tiruppur city. Since this was a hybrid variety of Nendram it took more than 7 months to attain a fully grown and mature tree. When I was planning to harvest, strong winds completely destroyed over 3,200 trees within a matter of minutes on May 22nd. I was completely crushed, as I spent more than Rs 5-6 lakhs for the past four months including labour costs where every labourer demanded more than Rs 600 per day. Not just my farm, another farmer Saravanakumar in Velayuthampalayam village lost more than 1,500 banana trees on the same day. "
Former Tiruppur District Panchayat Union Chairman N Shanmugam said,"Almost all banana farmers choose just two varieties - Nendram and Robusta in Tiruppur district. All these farmers fall inside the category of small segments of areas below 4 acres. Since the banana farmers opt for single harvest, they pay high attention for pruning, watering and removal of waste inside the farmland. In such cases, when strong winds destroy the banana farms, they are completely disturbed and disappointed."
An official from the Horticulture Department,"Around 250 banana farmers were affected in five spells in March and April months, 89 banana farmers were affected by the two spells in May month. After assessing the loss with revenue officials, we have sent the final report to the Tiruppur Collector and later it will be sent to Chennai for approval from the State Disaster relief Fund (SDRF) for allocation and payment of compensation."