JOIN USFarmers in the taluk are worried over the crash in the price of the plantain and they are getting ready to destroy crop which they have harvested.
Plantain has been cultivated on 2,032 acres of land in the taluk. The crop is ready for harvest in 98 per cent of the farms. The plantains have started ripening in a majority of the farms. However, the farmers have failed to sell it with the steep fall in its price.
More than 300 farmers at Banakal, Baggasagodu, Phalguni, Sabbenahalli, Horatti, Mugrahalli, Kithlegandi, Daradahalli, Bettadamane and other areas are cultivating plantain.
However, none of the them have harvested the crop. The crop, locally popular as ‘Pacchabaale’ is fetching Rs 2 to 4 per kg in the market.
The Horticulture Department promoted plantain in the region in the last four years by providing financial assistance to the farmers. In the last four years, subsidy has been provided for the cultivation of G9 plantain on 229 acres of land. As the department was promoting the plantain cultivation, the farmers turned towards its cultivation.
D D Lakshmana Gowda, a farmer of Phalguni village said, “I have cultivated plantain on five acres of land. To plant plantain, I have ploughed the land continuously for 25 days. I have spent Rs 1.18 lakh on fertilisers. I planted plantain after borrowing loan from banks. How can I repay the loan when the price of banana have crashed in the market? The interest on the loan is increasing day by day. The banks have already issued notices to repay the loan.”