Suryapet: Farmers pin hopes on tomato crop

Suryapet: Many farmers in the district are looking at cultivating alternative crops after the government had refused to cultivate paddy. A tribal farmer Dharavathu Ravi Nayak, native of Laxman Nayak Thanda in Chivemla mandal of Suryapet constituency has been making profits by cultivating tomatoes in his two acres for the last 5 years.

The investment per acre for crop cultivation would be up to Rs 25,000 and profits up to 50 thousand. The farmer is hopeful that profits will also increase as there is good demand for tomatoes now and added that business has shrunk last year due to corona.

He informed that he is facing difficulties due to lack of transport facilities whereas he is paying Rs 300 to transport tomatoes from his agriculture field to Suryapet in an auto.

Now with the huge rise in tomato prices, the farmer said that he is likely to earn profits between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.50 lakh this time. He said that the crop will be harvested in another 10 days as it is currently in the flowery stage.

Farmer Dharavath Ravi informed that he has been cultivating a tomato crop in two acres every year and has earned a profit of Rs. 50,000 per acre comfortably. Despite last year's tomato sales being low, good profits are expected this year, as the price of tomatoes in the market is dearer.

He said that he is getting yield of tomatoes per day ranging from 200 kg to 300 kg. Earlier it was Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg, now it is Rs 40 to Rs 50 per kg, he added.