Raisuan: After the distress sale of tomato in parts of Keonjhar district, now cabbage farmers are a worried lot with their produce remaining unsold.
Quintals of cabbages are wilting at farms while there are no takers for the produce, farmers said.
Farmers of Tikarapada, Dhatika, Salarapentha, Naupada and Mahdeijoda in Baradapal and Mahadeijoda panchayats are reportedly bracing for an agitation over the issue.
Farmers have raised the crop by taking loans from private lenders and banks.
”We had thought that we will recoup the loss as incurred from tomato cultivation by selling cabbages, but all our hopes have dashed. Traders are not coming to procure cabbages which are lying at farms,” some farmers said.
Narrating their miserable condition, the farmers alleged the government is in slumber despite knowing their condition.
The government is not creating employment opportunities for thousands of people while those trying to become self-sufficient from farming now lead miserable lives due to distress sale of farm produce, the farmers alleged.
Sanjay Sahu, a farmer, said this year weather condition was good for which famers raised cabbages to pay back their loans. “But now, I have become bankrupt due to the anti-famer policy of the government,” Sahu alleged.
Likewise, Suresh Behera of Tikarapada said, “I have raised tomatoes on 5 acres of land, but all my hopes have dashed as the produce remained unsold. All my labour and investment went in vain.” Another farmer Pandu Behera said the government has dealt a blow to farmers, who provided food to the state.
If nothing is done for sale of the produce, many farmers may commit suicide, he added.
Discontent is brewing among farmers who will resort to agitation in days to come, some farmers warned.
They demanded that the government take immediate steps for sale of cabbages or pay compensation, apart from making cold storage facilities for the produce. PNN
