'Time has come for farmers to fix prices for their produce'

COIMBATORE: The time has come for farmers to fix prices for their produce as being done in some crops in Tamil Nadu, Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agriculture Uninversity Dr K Ramasamy said here today.

With shrinkage of land and advanced technologies, agriculture now was not that profitable, which has also become commercial, unlike some decades ago, he told reporters here.

Farmers were earlier exploited by middlemen and also wholesale buyers, he said, adding the days were long gone when they thought of disposing of their produce, particularly when they had surplus production.

He cited incidents of over 1,500 banana growers forming a society and fixing the price for their produce and transporting to the destinations.

Similarly, mango and guava growers in Krishnagiri and Dindigul had also formed clusters and fixed the prices for their crop, thus getting remunerative prices, he said.

The stage has already set for farmers to demand suitable price for their produce like manufacturers do for their products, he said, adding that farmers cultivate paddy and wheat based on Minimum Support Price fixed by the Government.

To a question about awareness among farmers about solar pumping, Ramasamy said about 15,000 farmers had already registered in Tamil Nadu and 500 sets were distributed so far.

Seven companies had been shortlisted for supply of pumps and the subsidy, after purchasing the pumps, would be directly deposited in the bank accounts of the farmers.

When pointed out that advanced technologies led to increased cost of production, Ramasamy said there were many methods to reduce cost like protected cultivation, as in Israel, where with a minimum of Rs five lakh investment one can produce the same quantity from 50 cents, as was produced from five acres of land.