Vegetable cultivation in hundreds of hectares in Kanthallur and Vattavada has been affected due to lack of adequate rain, and it may prove dear for the Onam vegetable market.
Vegetables cultivated here are known for the least use of pesticides and fertilizers and Onam is the main season for the winter vegetables from the region. Large areas under cultivation, especially potato cultivation, in upland areas of the region, known as the vegetable bowl of the State, have been affected. Supply from the regions plays a major role in controlling the prices in the Onam market.
The authorities had expected a bumper crop this time as vast areas, which were under grandis cultivation earlier, were brought under potato cultivation.
P.T. Mohandas, president of the Kanthallur Cool Season Vegetable Marketing Farmers’ Society, said there would be a 50 per cent fall in production this season. There were 1,414 farmers under the society and 711 ha was under vegetable cultivation, he said.
Yesuraj, a farmer who cultivated potato in 1 ha said that his entire crop was lost due to extreme summer. Only 10 days was left for harvest, he said. After sowing, the area got rain only for seven days. For the past two months, Kanthalloor, a rain shadow region, did not receive any rainfall. Mr. Yesuraj said that he would have received 500 sacks of potatoes (each sacks contain 45 kg), had there been timely rain.
He said that he had spent Rs.1 lakh in addition to his own labour and all that was wasted. “I am not going for compensation from the Krishi Bhavan as it will be a meagre amount and lot of formalities will be there for getting even that,” he said, adding that only Rs.5 per cent was given as compensation for complete loss of crops. He said he was at a loss as to how he would take up cultivation next season.
With a week left for main harvesting to begin, the prices are already high here. The prices are — carrot, Rs.24 to Rs.26 a kg; beans Rs.28 to Rs.33; potato Rs.16 to Rs.17 a kg; and cabbage Rs.11 to Rs.12.
There would be a fall in production of all vegetables, except garlic, said Mr. Mohandas.
In Vattavada, 2,927 ha of land is under vegetable cultivation, with potato forming nearly half of the total production. Muthuraj, a potato farmer, said that it was the low groundwater level in the upland areas that had led to crop loss of potatoes. There was not much damage on the lowland areas.
A Krishi Bhavan official said that nearly 100 tonnes of vegetables were being sent to various markets from Vattavada daily and the prices were also better.
