The reason behind distress sale of vegetables of the winter varieties in Sohela and nearby areas of Padmapur sub-division in Bargarh district is not demonetisation but lack of buyers in the rural areas of the district.
“If buyers from the State capital, Cuttack, Rourkela, Angul, Puri who are coming to Panichhattar, Barhaguda, Saharatikra, Attabira, Godbhaga, Ekamra vegetable markets of Bargarh district will come to Padmapur sub-division, the problems of distress sale of vegetables can find an all-time solution,” opined Sureswar Satapathy from Bargarh and many others of the district.
Satpathy further said a number of vegetable traders of Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Rourkela are still depending on Ranchi (Jharkhand) market as their purchase centre. If these businessmen could be diverted to Padmapur, then there could be remarkable improvement in the situation, he said.
“Distress sale of seasonal vegetables in Bargarh district particularly in winter is not new. While the production is at the peak for use of modern technology in agriculture, the buyers are limited. The result being, farmers face distress sale not now but in previous years also. And those who cover a long distance to Bargarh only get value of their products,” said Satpathy further.
Villagers also support such a statement. “We allowed the cows to graze in the brinjal fields few years back as there were no buyers. It was profitable for us to destroy the crop rather than to sale in the market,” said an educated resident of the village Chaturbhuja Pradhan, whose family’s prime profession is agriculture.
“This also happens in most of the years in winter,” Pradhan added. Hence, it is rather poor market and lack of buyers who are to be blamed rather than demonetisation, said this highly educated young man of the village.
It might be mentioned here that the farmers of Uneish Mauza (19 villages) in Jharsuguda district close to Chhattisgarh border faced similar situation for sale of ginger before a decade. It was just at throw away price at the rate of `1 to `2 per kg by the brokers while the market price was `40. But due to interference of the then Director of Agriculture Department Isac Behera, the farmers got `25 to 30 per kg, informed Kishore Biswal and Dulamani Pradhan from Machida village of the district.
“Similar steps are needed for the Padmapur sub- division farmers by the district administration and the Agriculture Department to save farmers from distress sale and defaming demonetisation,” they suggested.