Salem, June 2 (IANS) Hundreds of farmers cultivating okra (ladies’ finger) in and around Sangagiri in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district are facing severe financial distress following a sharp decline in market prices, forcing many growers to abandon harvesting operations and leave the crop standing in their fields.

Okra cultivation is widespread across several villages in the Sangagiri belt, including Thevur, Arasiramani, Kullampatti, Chettipatti, Kunjampalayam, Odasakkarai and Thanneedasanur. The crop is grown on nearly 500 acres in the region and serves as a major source of income for a large number of farming families.

The vegetable is typically marketed through traders who procure produce from farms and transport it to wholesale markets across Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala.

However, farmers say the market has witnessed a sudden slump over the past week, leading to a steep fall in prices and creating a crisis for cultivators.

According to growers, okra is currently fetching only around Rs 5 per kilogram, a rate that is significantly lower than the cost of production. Farmers point out that cultivation expenses have increased considerably due to rising costs of seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, labour and transportation.

At the current market rate, many are unable to recover even a fraction of their investment. The decline in prices has made harvesting itself financially unviable. Farmers say the amount earned from selling the vegetable is often insufficient to meet the expenses incurred in hiring labourers to pluck the crop and transport it to collection points.

As a result, several cultivators have stopped harvesting altogether, allowing mature vegetables to remain on the plants.

The crisis has also affected local traders, who are reportedly struggling to find buyers amid weak demand in wholesale markets. In some cases, harvested produce could not be sold profitably, resulting in quantities of vegetables being discarded in agricultural fields.

With no immediate improvement in market conditions, many farmers have chosen to leave the crop unattended. Large portions of the standing crop are now drying up in the fields and are being incorporated back into the soil as organic manure.

Farmers have urged the government to closely monitor the situation and intervene to protect growers from further losses. They have called for measures to stabilise prices and ensure fair returns for vegetable cultivators, warning that continued losses could discourage future cultivation and affect rural livelihoods.

–IANS

aal/dpb