Vijayawada: Covid ruins farmers dreams

Vijayawada: Undeniably, Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown ruined the dreams of thousands of mango farmers in Krishna district as they are unable to sell the crop which is ready for harvest.

Like in the past, mango traders from Mumbai and New Delhi are not coming to Vijayawada and Nuzvid to pick the stock. Usually, good quality Banginapalli mangoes fetch a price of Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 a tonne if the farmers export to other states or other countries. But if they sell the same in local market, they can't get more than Rs 30,000 per tonne.

Nuzvid in Krishna district is famous for cultivation of Banginapalli mangoes. In fact, some traders from Delhi and Mumbai came to Nuzvid in March and gave advance of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to place orders. Now, they are not in touch the farmers due to lockdown. Moreover, farm labourers too are not getting livelihood due to the lockdown. Every year, thousands of labourers work in the mango gardens and earn money. Labourers too are eagerly waiting for the end of lockdown and starting of the trading activity.

Ch Srinivasulu, assistant director of horticulture, Nuzvid, said the mango farmers have adopted very good cultivation practices and produced good quality mangoes this season. Mango is cultivated in over 40,000 hectare in Krishna district and mostly in Vijayawada and Nuzvid revenue divisions.

However, Srinivasulu lamented that the lockdown had shattered the dreams of farmers. He said the farmers can get good profits if they harvest and sell in the market when there is a good demand. He further said if the mangoes fell off from trees after ripening, the fruit will not fetch good price.

In fact, the department of horticulture conducted an exhibition of mangoes in March and tried to promote the fruit in the domestic and national market. About 70 traders and agents from Mumbai and Delhi attended the exhibition in Nuzvid and evinced interest to buy mangoes.

V Satyanarayana, a mango farmer in Agiripalli mandal, said that he spent Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per hectare for cultivation but not able to sell the crop due to lockdown. He said he would suffer huge losses if the lockdown continues for few more weeks because the fruit will lose its taste.

Like Satyanarayana, thousands of farmers are keeping their fingers crossed and waiting for lifting of lockdown in the district.