Capsicum farmers getting low price for their produce

Capsicum farmers are facing huge losses as they have been unable to fetch remunerative prices for their produce. More than 50 per cent of the crop has already been harvested, but the farmers have not received the expected prices, leading to huge losses.

However, in the past two to three days, there has been a slight improvement in prices, as the farmers are selling their produce at Rs 10 to12 per kg, which is much higher than the earlier price of Rs 3 to 4 per kg. But, it is still inadequate to cover their input costs.

On an average, the input cost for an acre is around Rs 1.25 lakh, including rent of the land, labour, seed, fertiliser, nutrients and other expenses. So far, farmers have sold only 50 per cent of their produce at around Rs 25,000 to 30,000 per acre.

“I have harvested over half of the produce, which was sold at Rs 3 to 4 per kg. The seed of this crop is very costly and the crop requires extra labour. My cost of production is around Rs 1.25 lakh per acre, and I am expecting losses even after selling half of the produce,” said Shiv Kumar Saini, a farmer from Bibipur village.

Raj Kumar, another farmer from Indri block, said in the past two years, he earned good returns from capsicum, but this season he faced significant losses. “The crop comes under the Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana. To get benefits of the scheme, farmers have to sell their crops through registered commission agents. But since the agents are based in the Karnal grain market, far away from their villages, they end up selling their crops to private players at throwaway prices,” he added.

As per officials, under the scheme, farmers are to be compensated for the price gap if the capsicum falls below Rs 9 per kg.

Capsicum is cultivated on over 585 hectares with an estimated production of around 14,500 MT, said an official. “Farmers should sell their produce to authorised arhtiyas to get benefits of the scheme,” said Madan Lal, District Horticulture Officer.