UP: Farmers Plough Over Cauliflower Crop as Mandi Prices Crash to Rs 1/kg

Lucknow: Angry over not getting even the production cost of their produce, a group of farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district ploughed over their standing crop of cauliflower with tractor trolleys. They claimed they destroyed crops worth lakhs of rupees over an area of 15 bigha land. (One bigha is around 27,000 square feet in UP).

The farmers of Mayapuri village in Shamli district said they are not even getting wholesale rate of Rs. 1 per kilogram for cauliflower whereas the cost of bringing tomatoes to the market comes to Rs. 4 a kg. 

"I spent Rs. 5,000 per bigha to produce cauliflower and now I am not even getting Rs. 500 for my produce per bigha. We have been forced to sell our produce at Rs 1 per kg. Hence, we don't have any other option left than plough over the cauliflower crop," said Ramesh, a farmer, who said he destroyed his produce worth of Rs 2 lakh, He said he did this in distress as well as in solidarity with protesting farmers at the Delhi-Noida border who wanted repeal of the three farm laws as well as minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce. 

Ramesh said the usual price for cauliflower ranges between Rs 800 and Rs 1,700 per quintal but there is a glut in the market this season due pandemic-induced economic strain. 

"The amount of money we will spend on taking the cauliflower to the mandi (wholesale market) will not leave us with any returns of the production cost. Therefore, we decided to destroy the crop in the field itself," he said, adding that the estimated cost of 10 bigha cauliflower crop is around Rs 3 lakh. 

SONBHADRA FARMERS DUMP TOMATO 

As tomato prices nosedived in Uttar Pradesh’s markets, farmers in Sonbhadra district, the 'tomato belt', dumped nearly one tonne of their crop on road and ran their tractor trolleys over it. Some of them were seen crushing tomatoes with their feet, saying that they were getting only Rs 2 per kg for their produce whereas the retail price was Rs 25 akg.

Kesh Nath Maurya of Ghorawal village in Sonbhadra district said he was excited with the tomato crop he had sown four months ago on his three-acre land. But his happiness was short-lived. When he landed at the mandi to sell his produce, tomato was fetching just Rs 2 to 3 a kg, or Rs 90 per quintal in the wholesale market. 

“It (the price) may touch around 50 paise till the last week of January. We have been forced to dump our produce in which we put our blood and sweat," an anguished Maurya told NewsClick.

Narrating the growers’ ordeal, another farmer from Bahraich, who grew tomatoes in 10 bighas, told NewsClick: "I am also thinking of ploughing over my produce on around 10 bighas. I had never imagined in my dreams that I will even destroy my produce with my own hands," said Ramapti, adding that even the cost of labourers who cut and pack the crop is not being recovered, leave the expense on transportation.  

This ploughing over crops comes at a time when farmers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh are protesting at the Delhi-Noida border in Ghazipur  against the three new farm laws. The farmers are also demanding a legally guaranteed MSP for all crops. At present, MSP is offered only for wheat and paddy. 

POTATO PRICES SKYROCKET DESPITE COLD STORAGES BEING FULL 

Over the past few months, prices of potatoes and onions have been skyrocketing in Uttar Pradesh despite storage capacity in the state at its full. "One of the main reasons for the high prices is that potato and onion are being considered for exclusion from the Essential Commodities Amendment Act (EC Act) and the administration is failing to control the prices," Abdul Rashid, member of Dubagga Mandi, Lucknow, told NewsClick. 

This year potato prices have risen four-fold, selling at an average Rs 60 a kilo in the state’s retail markets against Rs 10-15 a kilo in 2019. Besides, farmers are not sure about potato rates in the near future, which is keeping them away from sowing it during the year.