Bhawanipatna: Absence of proper road connectivity and awareness among the tribal pineapple growers of Kalahandi district have landed them in distress, a report said.
The district is one of the largest producers of pineapple in the state with high production from Niyamgiri Hill area.
However, communication gap has severely affected farmers who prefer to sell their produce to traders at throwaway prices.
Lack of proper road connectivity in the interior villages and remote places prevents farmers from bringing the fruit to towns. Taking advantage of this, traders reach the villages and buy the fruit at cheap rates by luring the farmers. Traders buy pineapple for Rs 2-5 per kg and sell it for Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg in neighbouring states.
Most of the time, the farmers are unaware of the actual market price of the fruit and end up selling it to the middlemen at a price that this not commensurate to the efforts they put in to raise the crop.
Niyamagiri area on the border of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts registered record production of pineapple. Most of the fruit is cultivated by Dongria and Jharania tribals in the hilly area.
In the absence of proper road connectivity the tribals are forced to go for distress sale of the fruit despite record production.
There are at least 20 tribal-dominated villages in the Niyamagiri area. Even after 70 years of Independence, the villages are deprived of basic facilities, while benefits of most of the government schemes have failed to reach them.
Although the tribals cultivate a variety of crops, most of it given to domestic and farm animals due to lack of marketing facility. PNN