Amit Rai, Mumbai
A sad example of how a farmer toils day and night to grow a crop, borrow for it and save the crop by buying water, but when the same crop reaches the market does not get the right price, how pathetic the situation can be. Farmer Mainuddin Shaikh of Dapkyal village was eventually forced to throw away his hard-earned tomato crop on the farm and on the road as it was sold at just ₹100 per crate. The price of the crop fell so low that even the cost of harvesting and transporting it to the market became difficult to cover.
The crop was saved by purchasing water, but the effort was in vain
In Dapkyal village of Latur district, Mainuddin Sheikh started tomato cultivation with borrowed money. He arranged for water tankers to save the crops when the rains were low. He spent thousands of rupees to ensure that the crops did not dry up and the plants were ready for harvesting. After long hard work, when the tomato crop was ready, the farmer hoped to get a good price in the market and to be able to repay the borrowed amount. He also hoped to fulfill the needs of the family. But after the crop was ready, the price of tomatoes fell drastically in the market and all the farmer’s calculations were turned upside down.
Costing at ₹100 per crate is also difficult
As the price of tomatoes in the market fell to just Rs 100 per crate, the difficulty for the farmer increased. Cost of labor for harvesting tomatoes, cost of packing and then transportation to the wholesale market also became difficult to calculate. So the question of making profit by selling the crop was far away, there was no possibility of recovery of the cost incurred on the production. The farmer is caught between the debt taken for agriculture on the one hand and the extremely low market price on the other. Ultimately, a bitter decision was made to leave the tomatoes in the field or throw them on the road instead of incurring the extra expense of transporting the finished crop to the market.
No crop, farmer’s hopes hit the road
It was a very sad experience for him to see the crops which the farmer had raised like his own children, spoiling before his eyes. The farmer spends money to buy water so that the crop does not perish due to lack of water, but the market prices turn away all his hard work. This incident not only speaks to the fall in tomato prices, but also shows the great difficulty of the market system facing the farmers. When the market price of a crop falls below the cost of production, harvesting and transportation, the farmer has no viable option but to sell the crop. The big question now is when will the farmers get a fair price commensurate with their production costs and labour?
