Crashing ginger seed price make farmers weep

Lack of demand for ginger seeds has cut down the prospects of ginger farmers of earning good profits this year, in Mudigere taluk.

Ginger was grown in 150 hectares in Mudigere taluk, of which, 15 per cent of the crop was damaged due to rot disease. About 35 per cent of ginger crop has already been sold. The remaining 50 per cent has become seeds. Unfortunately, there is no demand for ginger seeds.

Ginger growers had bought seeds for Rs 1,500 to 1,700 per bag (each bag weighs 60 kg). However, now the     market price for ginger seed bag is between Rs 280 to 300. There are no buyers for the ginger seeds. The fall in price of ginger has left the growers high and dry.

The land in which ginger seeds were grown has become dry. To harvest one bag of ginger seeds, the labourers will have to be paid a sum of Rs 170 to 200. As the gingers have become dry, the yield is also less. The farmers had taken care of the ginger crops by spraying pesticides to check the rot disease. This has affected the plant. In fact, farmers have spent Rs one lakh for growing ginger in one acre land.

They were expecting 20 to 30 bags of yield.

However, with the crash in price, the farmers will not even get back the money which they have spent on fertilisers and pesticides. Farmer K T Sridhar who has grown ginger in two acre land at Bilagula said “there is steep fall in the price of ginger. There is no one to listen to our woes. Instead of plucking, it would be better not to harvest it. By growing ginger, we have lost our fertile land as well.”