Less demand, more supply: The sad tale of Tamil Nadu farmers

The relaxation provided to the farming community to carry on their work in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown might have ensured smooth cultivation and harvesting of crops in Tamil Nadu, but the huge gap between the supply and demand for fruits, vegetables and flowers have left farmers who cultivate and grow them a worried lot.

These farmers earn maximum from March to September as numerous religious festivals, marriages and other mass gatherings in Tamil Nadu fall during this season.

With COVID-19 and social distancing norms shutting the doors of temples and paving the way for restriction on the way marriages are conducted, tons of fruits, vegetables, and flowers are lying at farms and in the homes of thousands of farmers across the state. Closing of juice shops in peak summer season and uncertainty on what would unfold in the coming months are also adding to farmers’ woes.

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On its part, the Tamil Nadu government has been proactive in ensuring a smooth supply of vegetables and fruits reaching markets from the farms, but the “huge gap” between the supply and demand is making things difficult for farmers.

Besides other measures, the government has also announced that farmers can make use of 138 cold storages with a huge capacity of 13,600 metric tonnes owned by it across the state for free of cost to ensure they do not get rotten.

Less demand, more supply

“Cultivation and harvesting are smooth thanks to the government. But our problem now is selling our produce. Only 20 to 30 per cent of the vegetables and fruits are for use in households while the rest is for mass consumption. Where do we sell our products if there is no marriage and temple festival for the next few months? Our problems have only compounded,” P R Pandian, Coordinator, Tamil Nadu All Farmers Organisations Committee, told DH.

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Pandian also sought to know where farmers will sell their flowers if no temple is opened and festivals are cancelled.

Farmers who grow banana, watermelon, musk melon, vegetables, and flowers are the worst affected this season as all festivals have either been cancelled or postponed and juice shops have been asked to down their shutters. The majority of these fruits cannot be kept inside cold storages for long, they point out.

Bridging the gap between supply and demand

Admitting the existence of a gap between supply and demand, Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Gagandeep Singh Bedi explained to DH the measures being taken by the government to help farmers during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“We have almost normalised the supply chain from Tamil Nadu to Kerala and Karnataka while ensuring the functioning of wholesale fruit and vegetable market across the state. We have also launched 4,600 mobile fruit and vegetable markets to help the products reach the end-customers. The government is also facilitating trading of harvested pulses,” he said.

Besides operationalizing Uzhavar Sandhai (farmers’ market), the government has ensured that the supply chain was intact during the crisis.

“We are trying to help the farmers through various measures but still the gap between supply and demand exists and it needs to be bridged. Marriages are not taking place and there are no festivals which means there is no market for fruits and flowers,” Bedi added.