Farmers in the Narayangaon region of Maharashtra — one of the largest tomato-growing belts in the state — took to the streets over a crash in tomato prices. Farmers in this region have been getting barely around Rs 5-7 per kg from traders and merchants, even as the commodity is retailing at Rs 25 per kg to Rs 30 per kg in the markets of Mumbai and Pune.
A bumper tomato crop has led to a fall in the prices of tomato across Nashik and Pune districts in Maharashtra leading to despair among farmers who resorted to dumping the commodity on the roads in protest.There is a huge gap in the prices that farmers get for the commodity and actual prices at which tomatoes are sold in retail markets, says Shriram Gadhave, president, Vegetable Growers Association of India (VGAI). In Pimpalgaon, one of the main tomato markets in Nashik, tomato touched Rs 61 per 20 kg, which means farmers barely get some Rs 3 per kg.
Farmers are getting a pittance at Rs 3-4 a kg, while their production costs are anywhere between Rs 7-10 a kg, Gadhave said, adding that since this is a perishable commodity, farmers had no choice but to make do with whatever price that was on offer. This season, there has been a bumper production despite the lack of rains, since over 70-80% of the area under tomato has come under drip irrigation; as a result, the crop remains good without any disease infestation, he pointed out. Last year, the tomato crop was affected by the karpa disease and whitefly attacks.
Plantations were attacked due to a paucity of rains and therefore, farmers have increasingly begun to use drip irrigation as a solution.
Some 3 lakh hectares in Maharashtra has come under tomato cultivation, leading to a good crop and a rise of 20% in yield . This season is expected to end next month, after which prices could go up for a while, Gadhave pointed out. Sowing for the new season is also expected to start next month, when another 2.5-3 lakh hectares are expected to come under cultivation, he said.
“Farmers have been demanding a price mechanism to ensure that there are no wide variations in prices of vegetables, but nothing has come of this demand, Gadhave said. For instance, brinjals cost Rs 30 per kg in Mumbai, Rs 20 per kg in Pune and Rs 15 per kg in Nashik. It is the same case with tomatoes. It is the middlemen who make the killing while the farmers end up with little in hand,” he said. The government also needs to make market interventions at the appropriate times, he said.