OP AGNIHOTRI | Haldwani
Good production coupled with low market demand have landed the progressive farmers, who have been farming with organic technology, in a bind from which they find no way out. Such a farmer from Gaulapar, Haldwani, Narendra Singh Mehra has recounted his plight. “Thanks to the organic farming and other modern methods I have applied, a 40- year- old jackfruit tree planted by my father is now laden with over 100 quintals of the fruits. This abundance has, however, put me in trouble. As I am not getting the right price for them in the market, the fruits are left to rot on the trees,” he said gloomily.
Adding more, he said that the price he was getting in the market was not even equivalent to the cost of having them plucked and taken to markets. “The price I am getting is not more than Rs 400 a quintal,” he said.
Asked to explain things further, he said that 200 to 500 fruits grow in a mature tree per year. “But this tree has produced more than 100 quintals of jackfruit this time principally because of the organic and modern technology I have used. This is not the only case. I have achieved similar production miracles in other areas of agriculture and horticulture. But now dark despair is staring at me. It seems as though my hard work has proved to be my undoing,” he lamented.
He further said: “Jackfruit farming is considered quite profitable for the growers. But this year, not just me but others who have grown it organically have been facing the same quandary. Last year, I sold jackfruit worth Rs 45, 000 from this tree and this year too, I hoped to earn even more than last year,” he said.
Asked to explain the speciality of organic farming, Mehra said that there was no need for maintenance and medicines. “Besides, the vagaries of climate like cold, heat and even hailstorms have no effect on their growth. This accounts for the abundance of the produce,” he added.
Finally, he urged the State government to fix prices for jackfruits to keep organic farmers like them out of the low market price trouble. “This is demoralising for us as we are staring at a stark loss. We hope that the State government which encourages organic farming will step in for us,” he said.
