Tales from the other side: As prices soar, a family of farmers earns Rs 38 lakh from selling tomatoes
The soaring prices seems to have paid off for farmers in Karnataka. A family of farmers from Kolar on Tuesday sold 2,000 boxes of tomatoes and returned home with Rs 38 lakh, a TOI report has said. Prabhakar Gupta and his brothers have been farmers for over 40 years now and own about 40 acres at Bethamangala in the district.
The best price the Guptas had got for tomatoes was Rs 800 for a box of 15kg two years ago. On Tuesday, they managed to earn Rs 1,900 per 15 kg box. Prabhakar's cousin Suresh told TOI they grow good-quality tomatoes, and their knowledge of fertilisers and pesticides helps them ensure that their crop is safe from pests.Tomato farmer Venkataramana Reddy of Vyjakur village in Chintamani taluk sold his produce at Rs 2,200 per box of 15kg on Tuesday.
He said the previous best price his produce had fetched was Rs 900 per 15kg box two years ago. He had grown tomatoes on one acre of land and had brought 54 boxes on Tuesday to APMC market in Kolar. While 36 boxes fetched him Rs 2,200 per box, the rest were auctioned at Rs 1,800 per box.
His produce fetched him over Rs 3.3 lakh. Sudhakara Reddy of KRS Tomato mandi at APMC Kolar said the supply has come down, pushing up the prices. Tomato was auctioned at Rs 2,200 to Rs 1,900 per box of 15kg at his mandi on Tuesday.
He recalled having auctioned a 15kg box for Rs 2,000 in November 2021. He urged the authorities to take steps to check the pest menace. Many farmers in Kolar gave up growing tomatoes over the last few months as the produce got cheaper by the day.
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