Seeds of trouble

Escalating cost of seeds, accompanied by bad weather and transportation cost, force the farmer to fall into the local money lender's debt trap

Seeds of trouble

Escalating cost of seeds, accompanied by bad weather and transportation cost, force the farmer to fall into the local money lender's debt trap

Farmers in the state are coping with a rapid increase in the prices for vegetable seeds, the most basic ingredient for farming.

Farmers want the state to subsidise the rates of seeds so that they can grow more crops in the year

In the last year, the prices of various vegetable seeds such as brinjal, cauliflower and onions have increased by at least 10 to 15 per cent, complain farmers.

To cultivate an acre of tomato crop, a farmer has to buy seeds worth Rs 6,000 with each packet priced at Rs 60 each.
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"Apart from this, we also have to buy fertilizers, which increase the production cost," said Ashok Damodar Golap, a Nasik-based farmer.

High overheads

"However, we end up selling each kilo for as little as Rs 3-4," he added. The three varieties of tomato seeds, Vaibhav, Shaktimaan and Naamdhari have to be sown and many a times the produce is not as per expectations.
"A portion of it is either damaged in the fields or duringu00a0 the trip to the market," said Eknath Uttam, another farmer.

In the case of cauliflower, a farmer has to invest in at least 12 packets of seeds, each costing Rs 350.

Farmers complain that the huge production cost drives them to approach moneylenders, thereby allowing themselves to be entrapped in the deadly curse of debt.

"If the rates of seeds are subsidised, then it will be more viable for us. Most of us end up being in huge debts," said Vasant Namdev.

Many farmers, to make more profit, switch to different crops but often, end up losing what they have already earned.

The growing of vegetables is driven by demand and the price it fetches in the market. However, since many farmers are illiterate, they end up being influenced by the market demand and do not stick to one crop.

Rs 6,000
Worth of seeds needed to cultivate an acre of tomatoes

Rs 4,200
Worth of seeds needed to cultivate an acre of cauliflower crop

Need of the hour
> Subsidised rates for seeds
> Loan facility for farmers
> Decrease cost of fertilisers
> Clampdown on loan sharks
> Insurance scheme for farmers

In a month-long extensive campaign, MiD DAY will unravel the tangle of farmer-middleman-hoarder-politician nexus that is ultimately leaving a sour taste in your mouth.

So far in the Mid Day campaign...

Peeling layers off the onion trade
As the hue and cry over an unprecedented hike in onion prices hitting R100/kg ebbs, MiD DAY exposes the invisible hand of the cartel behind the rise.

Economics of the vada pav
Prices of pulses and vatana, ingredients that go into making your favourite vada pav, go through a 150 per cent hike from the farmer's hand till it reaches the retailer.

Who's adding to your food bills?
Food inflation hit 17% last month. The common man has almost resigned to the fact of steady price rise. But farmers are none the richer. MiD DAY aims to fill the gaps from the farmer's hand till your plate.

Blackmail on the fields
u Vegetable mafia manage to arm-twist the farmer into selling stock at a ridiculously lowu00a0 price in the traders' market, as the farmer does not have the money to cart his goods directly to Mumbai.

Octroi mafia pushing up vegetable prices?
While vegetables are exempt from octroi, illegal agents in conjunction with octroi officials charge a tax of their own to let the trucks enter the city, thereby causing an increase in prices.