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MANGALDAI/NALBARI: So, it's finally that time of the year when farmers of Assam are forced to sell their produce at throw-away prices to middlemen, while customers in urban areas, incuding Guwahati, continue to buy them at exorbitant prices.
As in the past many years, this has once again laid bare the lack of direct market access for the farmers, and absence of supply chain logistics in the state. This has enabled the middlemen to exploit the situation by forcing farmers to sell vegetables at very low prices, while selling their produce at higher prices in urban areas
Unfortunately, though this has been a common phenomenon over the past many years, no serious effort has apparently been made by the state government to address the issue.
In the agriculture-dominated Kharupetia region of Mangaldai, known as the vegetable hub of Assam, fields are currently lush with cauliflower. The bumper harvest has filled the fields, but this very production has robbed the farmers of their sleep. The reason is simple: the price of cauliflower has sharply fallen.
In Kharupetia, Dalgaon, Besimari, and surrounding areas, the wholesale price of cauliflower directly from the field is only Rs 3 to 4 per kg, whereas customers buy the same cauliflower in Guwahati's retail markets for approximately Rs 60 per kg. This multi-fold price difference between the field and the market is the farmers' biggest worry.
A distressed farmer from Kharupetia told The Sentinel that he cultivated cauliflower on three bighas of land. Including seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, labour, and irrigation, he claimed to have already spent about Rs 70,000 to 80,000. But even after selling more than half of the crop so far, he has received only Rs 20,000.
With a heavy heart, he said, "We start working in the fields at 4 in the morning. After so much hard work, if we get Rs 3 per kg, what will we eat? If this continues, from next year we will have to quit farming and work as labourers somewhere."
A youth from a farming family alleged that this entire situation benefits middlemen and syndicates.
He elaborated: "The farmer grows cauliflower with hard work and takes the produce to the market hoping for profit. But in the market, he becomes a victim to middlemen and is forced to sell at Rs 3-4 per kg. Then the same cauliflower sells for Rs 50 approximately in the local market and Rs 60 per kg in Guwahati. We grow it, we do the hard work, we suffer the loss, and the middlemen earn the profit. The government should pay attention to this."
The farmers demanded a fixed minimum support price for cauliflower, the functional restoration of the abandoned cold storage facility at Kharupetia, and reining in the syndicate of middlemen and the creation of a direct farmer-to-consumer sales channel.
Similarly, farmers in the char areas of Barkhetri in Nalbari district are facing severe financial hardship as they are forced to sell their freshly-harvested vegetable produce at extremely low prices due to the absence of proper marketing facilities.
The refrain is common - despite investing considerable time, labour, and money in cultivation, farmers are unable to receive fair prices for their produce.
Khalek Ali, a farmer from Borsulia Char in Barkhetri, has cultivated chillies and brinjals on two bighas of land. According to him, traders are purchasing chillies and brinjals from farmers at just Rs 4 to Rs 5 per kg. Farmers in the remote char areas are largely dependent on middlemen, who take advantage of their limited access to markets.
He lamented that despite working day and night, and taking loans to invest in agriculture, the farmers are unable even to recover their cultivation expenses. While the costs of seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, and agricultural labour have increased significantly, vegetable prices have fallen sharply, he pointed out.
The situation is not limited to Khalek Ali. Almost all farmers in Borsulia Char are reportedly facing similar difficulties. Many have expressed frustration over the poor returns from their hard work, with some even being forced to dispose of unsold vegetables.
Adding to their grievances, farmers alleged that officials of the Agriculture Department, including village agricultural extension workers, have never visited the area to assess their agricultural conditions.
They further claimed that most farmers in the char region have been deprived of government schemes, quality seeds, fertilisers, modern agricultural equipment, and necessary training facilities for a long time.
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