BARGARH : Ashutosh Acharya’s farm in Bargarh’s Jada village is glutted with cucumber. The six tonne of harvested fruit-cum-vegetable stock is perishing fast.
The rest, unplucked and still on the vines, are slowly ripening. His bumper crop has turned into a sight of hopeless yellow.
Unable to sell his produce due to the lockdown and staring at huge losses, he seems to regret his decision to try his hands at vegetable farming.
After taking up paddy farming for years over his six acre of land, Acharya took to vegetable cultivation on a small patch of land last year. He applied for polyhouse under a Government scheme and took a loan of Rs 10 lakh.
He also invested from his savings for growing cucumber. By February, he had spent around Rs 16 lakh including 12 lakh for polyhouse over 40 decimal of land and Rs 4 lakh for fencing and irrigation.
The same month, Acharya grew a seedless variety of cucumber and in a month’s time, his crop was looking lively.
Then the virus happened and lockdown was imposed exactly a day after he harvested his first batch of cucumber.
“I had already contacted a few wholesale traders in Rourkela, Sambalpur and Bargarh who had agreed to pick up my crop in bulk. Once the lockdown was announced, all refused to buy,” said Acharya.
A week into the lockdown and without any buyer, Acharya was left with nearly four tonne of unsold cucumber which started ripening, the first sign of perishing.
“With no other option, I asked some labourers to take the produce to the local market and sell it. They agreed after I promised them to share half the earnings. However, the returns at the local market were disheartening as the cucumber was sold at only Rs 4 to Rs 5 per kg.
Acharya said he would have produced 18-20 tonne of cucumber in two months from March end to mid May. However, he has been able to sell hardly a tonne so far. The farmer was ready to send his produce to Rourkela by arranging a goods carrier but wholesaler were reluctant since demand for cucumber dropped as people have a misconception that the vegetable causes common cold, a symptom of coronavirus.
Acharya now has around six tonne of harvested cucumber which is on the verge of perishing. The unplucked ones are also getting damaged too. “I have already incurred a loss of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh. Though I am not affected financially now, I will have to repay the loans. I will get no return on my investment this season,” he rued.
Lack of marketing mechanism for vegetables and storage facility in the region killed his hopes. There are several vegetable farmers who have tonnes of unsold pumpkins and tomatoes and are facing the same problem. “Our situation will worsen by the end of this Covid crisis. It is high time the Government announced compensation for vegetable growers,” he added.
Acharya applied for polyhouse under a Government scheme and took a loan of Rs10 lakh. By February, he had spent around Rs 16 lakh including 12 lakh for polyhouse over 40 decimal of land.
Acharya now has around six tonne of harvested cucumber which is on the verge of perishing. The unplucked ones are also getting damaged.