While consumers in cities are making a beeline for stores to buy vegetables and fruits even at a premium in the wake of lockdown due to COVID-19, the farmers are finding it difficult to sell their produce as it has become tough for them to reach wholesale markets.
The restrictions on movement is resulting in their crop getting perished. This was evident on Sunday with a few farmers in different parts of the State dumping their valuable produce to express their anguish.
Somu, a farmer from Ganjam in Srirangapatna, dumped three tonnes of sapota on the roadside gobar yard near Ganjam as he could not transport it to the market. According to him, he had to take such a decision as there were no buyers.
Munishamappa, a grape farmer from Chickballapur district, also dumped loads of grapes cultivated at his farm into a compost pit as he could not get any buyers.
A similar act was witnessed in Bengaluru too where some of the tomato farmers dumped crates of unsold produce on Mysuru Road. A young farmer dumped at least two tonnes of tomato near Ingalakuppe lake in Pandavapura taluk on Saturday. Farming activities have almost come to a standstil in Hassan.
Kottur Srinivas, Raitha Sangha leader, told The Hindu that the farmers, who had crops like green chilli and vegetables, were not getting pesticides due to the lockdown. “The farmers, who bring their produce to the market, are being fooled by middlemen. They purchase for a meagre amount citing lockdown and sell the same to consumers for a higher price,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mandya Deputy Commissioner M.V. Venkatesh has appealed to the farming community not to take such steps.
In a communique here on Sunday, the officer said the farmers’ produce was very much required during the present crisis. He said that there will be no restrictions on transporting farmers’ produces and the farmers can sell them to HOPCOMS.
