After onion, tomato, garlic and cabbage growers, it is now the turn of banana cultivators to throw away their produce due to crashing prices in Madhya Pradesh.
Banana farmers in Badwani district – the largest producer of bananas – are feeding animals with freshly picked bananas after its price fell as low as Rs 500 (USD 7.29) per trolley on Thursday.
On an average, a trolley carries 10 quintals of bananas for which farmers are being offered Rs 500 (USD 7.29).
“The input cost of 10 quintals of bananas is close to Rs 8000 (USD 1,116.60) . The wholesale traders are offering Rs 500 (USD 7.29) per trolley whereas the labour cost for loading and unloading the trolley is more than that. Also, the tractor owner takes Rs 500 (USD 7.29) for transportation. Therefore, it is better to feed the bananas to cows rather than trading it with the wholesaler,” said Piyush Kumavat, a banana grower who fed his entire produce to animals.
Farmers are alleging that the traders and middle men are conspiring against farmers and bringing down the prices in peak season.
“In the retail market, an average sized banana sells at anything between Rs 35 (USD 0.50) to Rs 40 (USD 0.58) per dozen. From farmers, the traders are buying at Rs 500 (USD 7.29) a trolley. So, where is the consumer’s money going? Banana farmers are marginal farmers and do not have cold storage facilities. We have to sell our crop as there is no other option and the traders are taking advantage of that,” another distressed farmer who destroyed his banana crop said.
Ironically, the Madhya Pradesh government is not considering any compensation for the losses these farmers are suffering. The government recently came out with a ‘Bhavantar Bhugtan’ scheme through which the farmers are compensated for the losses they suffer due to crashing prices.
However, this scheme is limited to agriculture products and the state agriculture minister Gauri Shankar Bisen has made it clear on more than one occasion that it would not be extended to horticulture products.
Banana growers have been demanding minimum support price for their produce for a long time in Madhya Pradesh but the government has so far chosen to ignore them.
Source: Hemender Sharma, India Today