Farmers from more than 5 villages in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul have set up grapevines on both sides of the highway near the Kodai Road Toll Plaza. As per reports, they are cultivating grapes in an area of about 4,000 acres. Grapes cultivated here are said to be very tasty and they have a high water content as compared to other grapes that grow in the foothills.
As a result, more than 30 retailers are selling grapes on the sides of the highway. But farmers in this area are now facing some difficulties, so they have now demanded that the government set up a juice factory to deal with the loss.
Reportedly, the grapevines were bought by the farmers from a pole for Rs 13. Then they start the irrigation process. Weeding is done every 20 days and after 3 months of grafting, the vine gets ready in 7 months. For this irrigation, they also need four tractors and bullocks to cultivate per acre.
Also, as per the farmers, if one wants a good profit in grape farming, they need to initially invest about Rs 1 lakh per acre. Then one can expect a profit of up to Rs 1.5 lakh. However, the farmers in Dindigul are facing major problems in cultivation and harvesting because grapes are getting affected by powdery mildew caused by the fungus Uncinula necator.
Along with this, when the grapes started fetching colour, the supply became low and exports slowed down. So during that time, the livelihood of farmers was affected. Therefore, they have demanded that the government take measures to ensure that the subsidies provided to the grape cultivators are fully available to them and that the government should help improve their livelihoods by setting up a juice factory to use the wasted fruits in the region.
Meanwhile, in a media interaction, Perumal, a grape farmer from the Dindigul district, said, “I am planting grape vines on 7 acres of land. I have spent 3 lakh to set up a pandal on the barren land, and Rs 2 lakh has been spent to set up the grape vines. In total, I have spent Rs 5 lakh till now. And if we spend another Rs 1.50 lakh on growing vines, we get 10 tonnes per acre. At the end of the day, we can cultivate only 5 to 7 tonnes; the price is sold cheaply in situations of high supply, and the price is sold high in times of low supply.”
Reports suggest that the government is providing various subsidies for the grape cultivation. However, the farmers are not able to use it properly as most of them are illiterate, and they are suffering from not knowing the details of how to get the subsidies provided by the government and when the subsidies are available.
Comments
0 comment