High tomato prices make farmers sleepless

Tirupati: Though farmers across the country are rejoicing over the soaring of tomato prices to unprecedented levels, but the spike in costs has been a bitter pill to swallow for the common people. The situation has become a subject of confusion and concern for everyone, leading to a flood of humorous memes on social media that reflect the prevailing state of affairs on one hand, while on the other a series of disturbing incidents have been taking place causing more worry.

These incidents have been affecting the agricultural community adversely. In a shocking incident on July 11 night, Narem Rajasekhar Reddy, a 62-year-old tomato farmer from Bodumalladinne village in Madanapalle mandal, Annamayya district, fell victim to a brutal murder by unidentified assailants. Preliminary investigations revealed that the motive behind the attack could be linked to the substantial profits he recently earned by selling tomatoes in the local market yard, amounting to nearly Rs 30 lakh.

The police have been investigating the case suspecting the significant profits he earned from tomato trade may be the reason. It may be noted that the deceased farmer’s wife has reportedly revealed that some unknown persons enquired about her husband saying that they want to purchase tomatoes. As some vendors have not yet made full payments, the murder may be linked to that, she felt.

Adding to the distressing incidents, in Nekkondi village in Punganur mandal, thieves stole about 400 kg tomatoes from an unharvested tomato farm during the night time which caused the farmer Uday Kumar a significant loss. In yet another incident in Madanapalle, culprits targeted a shop and managed to get away with 50 kg tomatoes, further fuelling concerns among farmers and traders alike.

While there are several such incidents in the recent past, the farmers and traders who have to make merry of the unexpected high returns for their crops, are now spending sleepless nights to protect their crops.

“From the days of throwing their tomatoes on roads due to steep fall in prices, we have been fetching attractive prices to get rid of their woes. But never expected the thieves and anti-social elements would enter the scene to hit our stomach,” said a farmer Uday, who suffered a loss of Rs 50,000 worth of tomatoes overnight from his farm as they were stolen.

The agricultural community hopes that swift action will curb the crimes and ensure that they can reap the benefits of their hard work without fear and uncertainty. Unless the security measures are stepped up, the rising incidents and tomato thefts could not be controlled.