Farmers are not getting the price of vegetables all over the State and the worst sufferers are the farmers of western Odisha.

Farmers of Keonjhar kept their tomato in front of the office of the Collector to get crushed under the wheels of trucks and buses. Situation in Bargarh district for all varieties of vegetables is still worse. It is further alleged that farmers in Sundargarh district have also no market for their vegetables.

This is one part of the story. The other part is price of vegetables available in the market. Not a single vegetable of any variety costs less than Rs 20 a kg in Sambalpur and rest other parts of the State. There are also some varieties whose price is even Rs 30 or more. And, the price of ladies finger is Rs 80 and that of the gourd vine is the same.

Then the question is why farmers are facing the problem like distress sale or lack of market. Consumers who are paying tomato at Rs 20 per kg and can purchase more if the price comes down. “But there is no solution to all these problems of the farmers as proper coordination is what that is lacking between the farmers and the consumers. And in most of the cases, only the middlemen and the traders are getting the cream but never the farmers or the consumers,” opined Ram Sagar Sahu, a farmer leader.

“And to have a solution, the Agriculture Department needs to coordinate the farmers and traders and also make arrangements to show farmers the market where there is demand and need of their products inside and outside the State,” suggested Sahu.

He also suggested exporting Odisha vegetables to Arab countries where the demand is high. But it can’t be possible on the part of the farmers unless the Government comes to their aid, he further opined, adding that action needed to be initiated with immediate effect to save and help farmers and make their economic backbone strong.