Nashik: Farmers dump tomatoes on roads as prices fall to ₹1 and 2 per kg while in the retail market, tomatoes are getting sold for ₹25-30 kg.
The farmers have demanded better procurement rates from wholesalers. with tomatoes and dumped the produce on the side of the highway.
NDTV and ANI also shared images from Nashik and Aurangabad, where farmers dumped tomatoes on the road yesterday after prices crashed in the wholesale market. (ANI)
Images from Nashik and Aurangabad, where farmers dumped tomatoes on the road yesterday after prices crashed in the wholesale market. (ANI) pic.twitter.com/rPvwNMhHIi
— NDTV (@ndtv) August 27, 2021
A video revealing the farmers’ rage:
Nashik farmers dump tomatoes on the road after prices crashed to Rs 1-2 per kg in the wholesale market. pic.twitter.com/9L1qRbT1I0
— NDTV (@ndtv) August 27, 2021
“Farmers came with two to three tractor-trolleys carrying tomatoes and agitated at Lasur station. They dumped the produce on the side of the highway. Vehicle movement remained uninterrupted during this time,” assistant police inspector Ravindra Khandekar, in charge of Shillegaon police station said.
The farmers have demanded better procurement rates from wholesalers. “Tomatoes are being brought by wholesalers for ₹100 per crate, which is nearly 25 kg. This is a huge loss. If the rate is close to ₹300 per crate, then it is a no-profit and no loss matter for us,” Ravindra Chavan, deputy sarpanch of Dhamori Khurd village in Gangapur said.
The state government should look into the matter and if the rates come down further, the government should compensate to make up for losses, he also said.
In Nashik district, which is a hub of India’s largest tomato market (Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon) is selling the vegetable for ₹664.19 per quintal in August.
As per the APMC data, the wholesale price has remained unchanged for the last year in Nashik district.
The farmers are upset because they say this is exploitation because after their hard laboring in the fields, weathering wild storms, the scorching sun, and bearing the costs of farming, in the end, they will get peanuts will the capitalists will make the most profits. In another incident, the Adani group is buying apples for Rs. 15 from Himachal Pradesh farmers if the apples don’t have enough color. Is this how the Modi government promises to increase the income of farmers?