Heavy fall in prices of garlic had hit the farmers .Although farmers are hoping that this fall is temporary, garlic will soo return to its old prices. It was said a few years ago that if the farmer used to carry trolly full of garlic to the market.Then he would return on the new tractor.
But now it seems that farmers have to sell their tractors to fullfill their expenditure. Santosha Rathore, a farmer of Mandsaur says that he had cultivated garlic on a hectare land hoping to compensate for losses in the soybean cultivation. But consecutive fall in the prices of garlic shattered his hopes. Due to which by not getting the right price he now left the market and started preserving his produce in the hope that when their get some improvement in the future he will sell his crop.
But Rathore looking at garlic deposited in his outhouse said he cannot able keep it for more days due to approaching monsoon till then the garlic will start rotting and by the winter, He may have to sell them at cheap rates.
Garlic considered to be a troubleshooter for farmer during tough times. Bu disappointed them this year. Mandsaur and Nimach are the highly garlic sown areas in Madhya Pradesh. According to the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) data, in the months of May-June The prices of garlic in Mandsaur and Indore local markets declined by about 59 percent.
This year, due to the increase in the cultivation of garlic it was kept in the Bhavanter Bhugtaan Scheme (BBY) by the state since the inclusion of garlic in this scheme there has been a decline in prices. According to the farmers the first garlic was sold at Rs 2500 per quintal. But since the garlic was brought under the Bhavanter Bhugtaan Scheme the price decreased to Rs 800 per quintal.Meanwhile addressing a Congress rally on Wednesday. Congress president Rahul Gandhi raised this issue and targeted the state government.
At the same time the state government pointed out that the excess cultivation of garlic this year was the main reason for the decline in prices. Although farmers were do not agree with this statement. Farmers say that the cost of garlic has been kept at Rs 800 per quintal under the Bhavanter Bhugtaan Scheme.
But the traders did not ready to give more than 300 rupees per quintal. Farmers said that they were in much better condition before this scheme . Atleast during the peak season they were getting the good price. After the failure of Urad, Gram, Soyabean, the fall in prices of garlic, took a heavy toll on farmers due to which they suffered huge losses. During the last two years no major crop have earned much profits to the farmers.
Bhanu pratap
Krishi jagran
