Upset over the low price offered for his cauliflower produce, a farmer in Uttar Pradesh threw 10 quintals of cauliflower on the road to let the needy have it and cook it without any charge. According to TOI, the licensed traders on the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) offered Mohammad Saleem just Rs 1 per kg for almost 1000 kilos of cauliflower produce. It was his entire produce.
Earlier, the farmers used to get at least Rs 12 to 14 per kg, however, Saleem was expecting the least. “I have half an acre of land where I had cultivated cauliflower and spent around Rs 8,000 on seeds, cultivation, irrigation, fertilisers, etc. In addition, I had to bear harvesting and transportation costs worth Rs 4,000,” he said.
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“The retail price of cauliflower at present is Rs 12 to 14 per kg and I was expecting at least Rs 8 per kg for my produce. When I was offered a mere Re 1 per kg, I had no option but to throw away all my produce to save the transportation cost to bring it back home,” he added.
“The loss has put my family, comprising a 60-year-old mother, younger brother, wife and two school-going children, on the edge of starvation. My brother and I will now have to take up some labour work to provide for the family,” he went on to say.
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“We were helpless in applying any regulations regarding the procurement price of vegetable crops as these were not covered under the minimum support price policy of the state government,” said APMC secretary Vigil Balyan.
“The prices of vegetables are normally governed by the volume of supply although the traders had a tendency of earning the major part of the profit,” he added.
