Belagavi farmers submit memo to deputy commissioner over drop in cabbage prices
Farmers purchase each sapling of cabbage from green nursery for ₹6, each sapling gives cabbage weighing maximum up to 2kg
A group of farmers in Belagavi have submitted a memorandum to Belagavi deputy commissioner after the price of the cabbage dropped to 60 paise per kg in the north Karnataka region, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
“Due to sufficient rains last year, farmers from the northern part of the state, mainly from Belagavi, Khanapur and Gokak taluk, cultivated vegetables in huge amount and that was one of the reasons that lead to the crash of market price, “Appasaheb Desai, Belagavi taluk president of Karnataka Rajya Raira Santa Mattu Hasiru Sene, said.
On Wednesday, Desai along with a group of farmers dumped several bags of cabbage on the premises of Belagavi deputy commissioner.
“Farmers purchase each sapling of cabbage from green nursery for ₹6, each sapling gives cabbage weighing maximum up to 2kg. Farmers are not in a state to afford the transportation fare to carry the cultivation to the market. The government has failed to protect the interest of the farmers,” he said.
He further said that the farmers have been forced to leave the crops itself in the field for the sheep. “Transportation charges will be more than what we get by selling the crop in the open market or at the APMCs (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) for which most of the farmers didn’t harvest,” Desai said.
Satish Patil, a merchant associated with the state government regulated APMC, said: “Wholesale merchants from Bengaluru are purchasing vegetables, mainly cabbage, in hundreds of tonnes for ₹1 per kg and selling them for ₹10 to ₹15 per kg in Bengaluru and southern part of the state. Hoteliers are the main customers of the wholesale merchants who purchase vegetables in large amount.”
HT tried to get response from the APMC but no one responded.
