Ashikho Pfuzhe
Dimapur | September 10
After all the back-breaking toils in the sun and rain, farmers of Phek district are not reaping what they sowed. Acres and acres of cabbage plantation in Pfutsero and Razeba ranges are silently rotting away in the fields for want of marketing outlets and good price.
The raw deal they get from the wholesalers in Dimapur and the numerous toll taxes have dissuaded many farmers from transporting their produce and selling them in Dimapur’s wholesale market.
The state government’s “buy-back policy” under the ambitious “Year of Farmers” (2006) remains to be implemented and farmers are left at the mercy of the wholesale sharks. “After paying toll taxes and the expenses incurred traveling for more than 130-140 kms to reach Dimapur, we are forced to sell our produce at throw away prices as the wholesalers know full well that we have no alternative but to dispose the perishable vegetables by any means,” While cabbages are sold at Rs. 10-15 per kg in the market, many farmers are forced to sell their cabbages at Rs. 3-5 per kg to the wholesalers.
A farmer disclosed that recently he had to sell cabbages at the rate of Rs. 50 per bag (40kg approximate), a little over Rs. 1 per kg as he had little time to bargain since the cabbages were on the verge of perishing. “Forget the profit margin, the amount I got from selling was just enough to bear the expenses of my return journey,” he said.
The municipal and town councils of Kohima, Medziphema, Chumukedima and Dimapur are reportedly levying Rs. 200, Rs. 50, Rs.30 and Rs. 230 respectively as toll tax per Tata Mobile carrying vegetables. This is despite the fact that the State Assembly in 2006 passed an Act exempting all agri and allied products produced in the state from toll taxes, to promote local farmers, especially in organic farming.
Farmers are also of the view that the DMC should either enhance the wholesale rate of cabbage at Rs. 6 per kg fixed by the council, or do away with rate-fixing of perishable items. Many farmers feel that rate fixed by DMC leaves no room for profit margin.
On the other hand, the farmers claimed that the wholesalers are doing brisk business by sending cabbages outside the state.
“Only 5 percent is being sold here for local consumption and the rest 90 percent is being sent outside including Assam where the rate of the “off season” vegetable is sold at Rs. 25-30 per kg,” another farmer said. The farmers felt that the authority should evolve some mechanisms so that their interests are also accommodated while ensuring that the retail price in the local market is not hiked.
Meanwhile, chairman of Razeba Sub-Marketing Committee (RSMC), Sanyi Dukru, said that the loss incurred by farmers of Razeba range this season due to marketing woes was rising every day.
“The cabbages are simply rotting and getting spoilt in the fields as farmers see no point in transporting their produce to Dimapur since many have come back with stories of loss or little gain in their venture. The loss due to spoilage of cabbages in the last twenty days runs to approximate Rs. 15 lakhs,” the RSMC chairman said.
Dukru also said that of the projected 5000 metric tones (MT) cabbage harvest in Razeba range this year, 2000 MT have already been disposed at a “loss.”
Urging the government to step in so that the remaining 300MT should not go “waste,” he also appealed the Agri and horticulture officials to go for spot verification of the affected fields.
