The cabbage growers of some villages in the Belagavi district are now feeding their fresh crop to cattle instead of transporting it to the market for selling as prices have crashed to the rock bottom. The farmers feel that that, under the prevailing circumstances, they will not even be able to recover the transportation cost by selling their produce.
The price of cabbage has crashed to Rs. 1-1.2 per kilo (or Rs. 100-120 per quintal) in some of the wholesale markets in Belagavi district. Before November, the same crop fetched Rs. 700-800 per quintal. This has caused tremendous frustration to farmers as they have spent nearly Rs. 50,000 per acre to grow the crop, with an average yield of 225 to 250 quintals.
The crash in prices is being attributed to a glut in the harvest as well as the shortage of cash caused by demonetisation, resulting in traders either desisting from procurement or quoting low prices.
In Assam also the cultivator could not get the minimum support price of their vegetable.