The prevailing drought has introduced acute misery upon coconut farmers in Karnataka, who had been already affected by the falling value of copra. They’re now anxious about saving their coconut plantations as water shortage has led to crop wilting in Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts.
Whereas the delay in buy of copra by NAFED has already hit them, the drying up of borewells in giant tracts has compelled them to buy water to avoid wasting their plantations. Although the Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress members raised the issues being confronted of coconut farmers in the course of the legislature session in February 2024, it isn’t spoken of a lot as an election difficulty, although copra procurement is linked to the Centre.
Delay and loss
“The delay in copra procurement has caused loss to us. The extreme heat has reduced the weight of copra. For about 1,000 coconuts, we would get upwards of 140 kg of copra, which has now reduced to 120 kg,” stated Renukaswamy of Muguluru-Mayasandra in Tumakuru district, who had introduced his produce to a rice mill that has been transformed to a copra procurement centre. “Traders and middlemen were responsible for botching up the earlier procurement process, by registering a huge number of fake farmers, that led to its cancellation. Prices had crashed to less than ₹7,500 per quintal from about ₹15,000 a quintal in 2023.”
Maheshwaraiah, a farmer in Belgarahalli in Tiptur, stated that although floor water is obtainable in some locations, they don’t have cash to sink borewells. “We are yet to sell our stock of copra and do not have money. Some who took loans and sank borewells are facing loss as those wells failed. Without water, the coconut palm is wilting.”
After a failed procurement try, the NAFED has determined to acquire 70,000 tonnes of copra from Karnataka at a value of ₹12,000 per quintal whereas the State Authorities is providing ₹1,500 per quintal. Usually, copra procurement begins by December and January, however this yr, it began on April 1, and is prone to go on for the subsequent six months in a number of centres.
To forestall a rush, every centre will acquire 200 quintals day by day. Farmers have been allotted time. A cap of 15 quintals per farmer has been fastened this yr towards 20 quintals final yr. In Karnataka, about 58,000 farmers have registered to avail the assist value. Karnataka is the most important provider of edible copra in India , and is in demand for its sweetness.
Manipulation of copra value by merchants in APMC charges
“The prices dropped this year due to a glut and manipulation by traders in the APMC rates. Traders bid for low price in APMC, which became a standard price outside too. This issue has been fixed. Farmers in Tumakuru, Hassan and Chitradurga that fall under dry land agriculture have no alternative to arecanut,” stated Tiptur APMC Secretary S.B. Nyamgoud. Although the value of copra within the open market is ₹9,300 per quintal, it’s prone to transcend ₹10,000 per quintal within the coming days.
If the falling value of copra has given sleepless nights to farmers, the lengthy dry spell and water shortage has hit them exhausting in these summer season months.
“We are running out of savings as we are spending more than ₹1,000 per water tanker to save our crops. The cost of a tanker varies from ₹900 per load to ₹1,600 per load depending on the distance from the source of water. I am buying tanker every alternative day. The drought relief of ₹2,000 given by the State Government is nothing when compared to our expenses,” stated Ranganatha, who has two-and-a-half acres in Anesiddre Gollarahatti in Hiriyur, Chitradurga district.
At Baramagiri, Kanthraj, one other farmer, stated, “In 2015-2016, we lost our plantations due to drought. Now, we are on the verge of losing it again if it does not rain soon. It is very expensive to purchase water for irrigation.”