Horticulture farmers lose Rs 20,000 crore amid poor infrastructure  

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh farmers are on the receiving end because they have lost horticultural products worth over Rs 20,000 crore due to post-harvest losses, market issues, lack of proper storage, poor handling of produce, and dearth of transportation facilities. Several fruits and vegetables were ruined before reaching the market. Therefore, farmers have to sell their productivity at very low prices amid a lack of market access.

Top-quality tomatoes are being sold for just Rs 10 per kg, and watermelons and chilies are available for about Rs 15 and 20, respectively. However, in villages and local markets, the prices of such items are even lower. Farmers are unable to recover their costs. They have to bear transportation costs and pay commission to ‘Arhatiyas’ (middlemen) at the mandis. Therefore, they fail to get money for their relentless hard work.

Also Read: Call for new horticulture strategy to boost UK farming

Farmer Vridhi Chand Patidar shared his story: “I planted 12,000 saplings of watermelons and spent Rs1.62 lakh. But I barely made Rs 90,000. At the farm, the watermelon sells for just Rs 2 per kilogram, Rs 7 per kilogram at the mandi, and Rs 15 per kilogram in the market.”

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) leader Kamal Anjana added, “It is a pathetic situation for farmers. They are not even able to recover their production costs. The losses have reached up to Rs 20,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh.”

Farmers of Madhya Pradesh have been facing all sorts of troubles. They are not able to sell their produce at the actual price due to inadequate facilities. The state government should improve the overall infrastructure to save them from further financial crisis.