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New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Need better awareness on crop rotation to avoid tomato gluts, say TN farmers
DHARMAPURI: With Dharmapuri district witnessing another tomato glut this year, farmers have urged the horticulture department to create better awareness about crop rotation and provide detailed data of planted crops in each block to enable them to choose suitable crops other than tomatoes. It may be noted that the district, one of the largest tomato producers in the state, is facing the seasonal 'tomato glut' as farmers over produced tomatoes to compensate for the water shortage during summer. However, the glut has resulted in tomato procurement prices dropping to Rs 5 to Rs 7 per kg in the wholesale market and Rs 12 per kg in the retail market. Considering this, farmers have sought the horticulture department to take necessary steps to provide data on the area of crop cultivated in each block every month, so that they can plan ahead and choose better crops for crop rotation. Speaking to TNIE , S Selvaraj, a farmer from Palacode, said the glut was primarily due to acute water shortage during summers. "If there are good water sources, farmers would invest in better crops. Another reason would be poor planning. In most cases, farmers are not aware of the benefits of crop rotation; they see the current prices and plant them. Farmers must be introduced to crop projection data and real-time cultivation data. They need to be informed ahead of each season about which crop would yield the best prices. These data are available with the administration, and officials should make recommendations on which crop farmers can plant to gain more profit." P Ganeshan, a wholesale tomato trader said, "Right now, we are getting about 25 tonnes of tomatoes in the market, but we are unable to sell them, and the prices have dropped. For the past eight months, prices were stable at Rs 20 per kg (average). Hence, the cultivation area was also expanded, which in turn led to another glut." When contacted, horticulture department officials told TNIE , "Dharmapuri is one of the largest tomato producers in the state and we have a cultivation area of about 12,084 ha, producing about 4,67,677 MT of tomatoes. Among them, Palacode alone dedicates about 2,000 ha for tomato cultivation. We have been urging farmers to take up crop rotation. But in most cases, they find alternative crops not viable, creating repeated gluts." Regarding the data for crop rotation, officials said, "It is available in every one of our block offices across the district. Recently, District Collector R Sadeesh also instructed us to post the data online for easy access to farmers. We will be conducting a 'Digital Crop Survey', three times a year, and will be able to provide real-time data. We will share the data and make recommendations for the welfare of farmers." Meanwhile, deputy director of agriculture marketing department Illangovan said, "The Tamil Nadu government has announced its plans to set up 100 centres dedicated to manufacturing value added products from tomatoes. By next year, we will have at least one or two such units here. This would improve the situation."
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- The Hindu
Farmers complain about irregularities in DPCs, pest infestation
Irregularities in the functioning of direct purchase centres (DPC) in Madurai district were once again highlighted by farmers at a farmers' grievance redressal meeting held at the Collectorate here on Friday. The farmers told Collector M.S. Sangeetha, who presided over the meeting, about various irregularities that plagued the functioning and the management of DPCs which included corrupt practices and exorbitant handling charges. The farmers said that they faced threats if they complained about the irregularities. From bribes to delays, there were problems galore, they said, adding that only after paying extra commission things were being done. The Collector urged the farmers to come forward and complain and not to pay any bribes. Genuine complaints would be looked into, she said. The discussions over the issue led to a heated argument between the farmers before things cooled down. Another major issue that was highlighted by the farmers and also saw heated arguments was with regard to pest infestation. The farmers complained that crops, particularly coconut palms, were being affected by Rugose Spiralling Whitefly. The farmers sought appropriate compensation from the authorities. They urged the authorities to come up with pesticides that they could use to protect crops from the pest. They said that drones could be used to spray pesticides to protect crops. The Collector assured the farmers that a survey would be conducted and appropriate steps taken. The Collector told the farmers that Digital Crop Survey will be adopted which included data and information on crops and other details. The farmers complained about the low yield due to climate change and other reasons. They urged the authorities to take steps to remove encroachments whenever a representation was made. They complained that the authorities were sitting on the representations. The farmers sought necessary steps be taken for desilting water channels. Some farmers urged the authorities concerned to create awareness of proper disposal of waste. The Collector told the farmers that e-carts had been introduced for garbage collection. Awareness programmes were already being conducted, the Collector told the farmers.
