UP: Angry farmer dumps 10 quintals of cauliflower on road after traders offer Re 1 per kg for it

[Ryzen_renoir]

PILIBHIT: Dejected over trivial price offered for his cauliflower produce by the licensed traders on the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) campus in Pilibhit, a marginal farmer threw his entire produce weighing 10 quintals on the road to let the needy persons collect it for cooking without any charge.

Mohammad Saleem of Jahanabad town was offered Re 1 per kg for his crop by the traders, which was at par with the transportation cost he bore for bringing his produce to the APMC campus.

I have half an acre of land where I had cultivated cauliflower and spent around Rs 8,000 on seeds, cultivation, irrigation, fertilisers, etc. In addition, I had to bear harvesting and transportation costs worth Rs 4,000,” Saleem told TOI.

“The retail price of cauliflower at present is Rs 12 to 14 per kg and I was expecting at least Rs 8 per kg for my produce. When I was offered a mere Re 1 per kg, I had no option but to throw away all my produce to save the transportation cost to bring it back home,” he added.

When asked how he would make further investment for the next produce, Saleem said that he is now bound to seek private loans on a higher rate of interest as commercial banks had been quite reluctant in extending credit facility to poor farmers.

APMC secretary Vigil Balyan said, “We were helpless in applying any regulations regarding the procurement price of vegetable crops as these were not covered under the minimum support price policy of the state government.”

“The prices of vegetables are normally governed by the volume of supply although the traders had a tendency of earning the major part of the profit,” Balyan added.

[Ryzen_renoir]

India lo cauliflower , tomaros konchem ekkuva konandi 

[Ryzen_renoir]

The dust is yet to settle over the union budget but fortunately the more mundane markets of vegetables and food grains seem to be placid. In fact prices of most essential commodities have seen a slight correction thanks to the increased arrivals from the growing centers.

The months of January and February normally sees good arrivals picking up and prices going down. However, this year unseasonal rains in parts of the state like Nashik, Satara and Pune had affected the arrivals of vegetables which had led to a price rise not entirely unforeseen. But things have now settled down much to the relief of Pune.

Prices of most vegetables at Pune’s wholesale market range from Rs 5/- a kg for cabbage to Rs 80/- a kg for raw mangoes. The later are now the costliest vegetables available in the markets. Staples like okra (Rs 35/-), beans (Rs 60/- per kg) green peas (Rs 25/-) bottle gourd(Rs 12/-) have seen increased arrivals. Tomato(Rs 7/-), cauliflower(Rs7/-) are now the cheapest vegetables in the market thanks to bumper crops. At the retail markets prices are between Rs 25-60/- for most vegetables. Onions continue to be a bit of a tricky point with most retail traders selling the bulb at Rs -35/- per kg.