The single killing factor of the farmer is market fluctuation or rather market manipulated. Banana fetching rs 15 per kg has crashed to Rs 3 per kg. Ginger which was Rs 300 twoyears ago has come down to rs 30 per kg for the farmer. The sad fact is that the consumer price of these items have not fallen proportionately. Banana sells atRs 40 per dozen in retail shop. One dozen is one and half kg of standard size; it may be even 2 or 3 kg. In a dozen. When farmer gets rs 4 and paise fifty; the retailer takes Rs 40! It is a cruel system of govt control and midle men.
I am an army officer who volunteered out early (1993) to take up farming and broke my back. I did proper scientific farming; the first one in Belgaum to take up tissue culture and drip irigation; took bank loan of Rs 16 lakhs ; even opened own wholesale godown to survive! I did many other things to earny(security business , garment retail , civil contract and hotel) and suport the farm. Yet I was drowned in debt, the demand from bank acumulated to Rs 54 lakhs! Can u believe? I had to sell my farm to avoid
sucide
It is not easy to survi
ve in farmingm something is roten in the country which is not accepted by the chair bound. You don't find many Agri graduates doing farming. They prefer to be consultants and traders in poison( pesticides n weedicides) !
The input cost goes up as per subsidy which is gulped by the manufacturers if irigaion systems and officials who are in the ladder to sanction subsidy
Major K M mathews (retd)
A defeated farmer
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