The sudden drop in the price of vegetables has put tomato farmers in a dilemma. Farmers were forced to throw their tomatoes in the trash after prices at the farms dropped to 3 per kg.
Andhra Pradesh’s tomato farmers saw record yield due to persistent rainfall and favorable circumstances, which caused rates to suddenly drop. In May, tomatoes cost Rs 30 per kg, but they are currently only Rs 12 per kg in local markets. Farmers are therefore only being given Rs 3 per kg.
"We receive around 60 kg of harvest in our five-acre farms daily. It costs around 6 per kg to cultivate, but middlemen are offering only 3 per kg. Transporting the harvested fruit is an additional burden. We have decided to dump tomatoes as food for cattle," K Ramulu, a farmer from Nandigama in the NTR district, said.
Another farmer said the unsold tomatoes were being dumped in garbage bins to mark their protest.
Many farmers have started setting up stalls on the main roadways to sell tomatoes directly to customers. Customers are showing interest in purchasing tomatoes directly from farmers.
According to agricultural authorities, many farmers are discontinuing tomato farming considering the losses, which will likely result in an increase in price in November and December.
According to a senior official in the agriculture marketing department, in order to reduce the use of middlemen and to offer better rates, they have decided to buy tomatoes directly from farmers.
