Chennai consumers rejoice as veggie prices plunge K. LAKSHMI

[prasad1]

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Consumers may get to save on their food bills with the cost of many vegetables dropping significantly over the last week.


The price of tomatoes, which was Rs. 50 in November, has come down to a reasonable Rs. 10- Rs. 15 per kg in the retail market.


Several residents said they bought double the usual quantity when they saw price tag of tomatoes (local variety) at Rs.10 per kg and hybrid tomatoes at Rs.13-Rs.15/kg in retail stores. Most vegetables now come at a wallet-friendly price now. “I don’t remember buying tomatoes at such low prices in recent years. I am also buying more of green peas (Rs. 30/kg), carrots (Rs. 32/kg) and drumsticks (Rs. 55/kg) as they are cheaper than last month,” said C. Ragini, a resident of Anna Nagar. The Koyambedu market is receiving nearly 80 lorry-loads of tomatoes daily — nearly double the usual number. Traders noted that the cost of vegetables dips during winter season. But, this year, most vegetables are cheaper by nearly 30 per cent when compared to February last year.
Chennai consumers rejoice as veggie prices plunge - The Hindu

 

[Raji Ram]

Tomatoes sold at just Rs. 4 on one fine day! I bought 2 kg and made ketchup without garlic.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Sir,

Drop in the price of some of the vegetables, is really a relief to Chennaities. We enjoy such good things rarely

 

[krish44]

Sir,

Drop in the price of some of the vegetables, is really a relief to Chennaities. We enjoy such good things rarely

tomatoes are rotting in maharashtra . wholesale at 1re a kilo . poor farmers are sick because of this. .there are huge cartels in veg contolled by four or five big traders out to make a killing in onion and potatoes. they finance political parties .onion touched even 90 rs/kilo. all the prices are set abnormally. recently sugar mills refused to crush sugar cane in up leading to a crisis which the govt resolved azad mandi the biggest veg mandi of wholesalers went on strike due to supreme court ordering 6percent levy to be paid by them to the govt instead of poor farmers. they held the city to ransom for 2 days. A large section of our population work as middlemen in some trade or other . they claim to be facilitators.

 

[sarang]

Why? was garlic very expensive!!! TV showed that it was one rs. per kg in thallu vandis.

Tomatoes sold at just Rs. 4 on one fine day! I bought 2 kg and made ketchup without garlic.

 

[kunjuppu]

tomatoes are rotting in maharashtra . wholesale at 1re a kilo . poor farmers are sick because of this. .there are huge cartels in veg contolled by four or five big traders out to make a killing in onion and potatoes. they finance political parties .onion touched even 90 rs/kilo. all the prices are set abnormally. recently sugar mills refused to crush sugar cane in up leading to a crisis which the govt resolved azad mandi the biggest veg mandi of wholesalers went on strike due to supreme court ordering 6percent levy to be paid by them to the govt instead of poor farmers. they held the city to ransom for 2 days. A large section of our population work as middlemen in some trade or other . they claim to be facilitators.

crooks. all the middlemen.

also the vegetables rot because, these have no refrigeration facilities. and folks are blocking the entry of western retailers who have in their business plans to build these.

 

[prasad1]

Middlemen might be crooked, but they are the only one with infrastructure. I agree that the least number of middlemen with the best infrastructure might control the prices, but you can not do with out the services of the middleman.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Sir,

That apart the middlemen role, it is also reported by the Agricultural Department Officials that many of farmers in and around Madurai District, who were hitherto growing paddy, have now switched over to cultivating vegetables as the same required minimum water. This may also be one among the reasons for the fall of price of certain vegetables.


Regards

 

[krish44]

crooks. all the middlemen.

also the vegetables rot because, these have no refrigeration facilities. and folks are blocking the entry of western retailers who have in their business plans to build these.

K saheb there is a complex procurement and distribution chain. there are big retailers who give small farmers money,seeds,fertilizers to grow what the retailers want. they take the produce and make farmers pay the commission and levy of 6percent which farmers are unable to refuse.big distributers pass on what and when they want at a price set by the cartel to the wholesalers .they have huge godown ,money power and other facilities to stop free market access. politicians do not take them on . as they contribute to their prosperity. when there is a bumper harvest of perishables ,they simply let the farmers hang.supreme court interfered and wholesalers another set of crooks refused to to pay the market levy of 6percent . staple food grain procurement both by govt and private operaters is a bigger scandal. the procurement prices set by govt gives govt access to mostly rotten grains which rot further due to exposure to weather due to inadequate infrastructure.these rotten grains make their way to either ration shops or sold at huge discounts to private parties. private parties make block deals with big farmers and small farmers are indebted to private procurement fellows and sell to them at a discount. this year agriculture has done verywell due to eastern and north east india. let us see what happens to retail prices

 

[kunjuppu]

K saheb there is a complex procurement and distribution chain. there are big retailers who give small farmers money,seeds,fertilizers to grow what the retailers want. they take the produce and make farmers pay the commission and levy of 6percent which farmers are unable to refuse.big distributers pass on what and when they want at a price set by the cartel to the wholesalers .they have huge godown ,money power and other facilities to stop free market access. politicians do not take them on . as they contribute to their prosperity. when there is a bumper harvest of perishables ,they simply let the farmers hang.supreme court interfered and wholesalers another set of crooks refused to to pay the market levy of 6percent . staple food grain procurement both by govt and private operaters is a bigger scandal. the procurement prices set by govt gives govt access to mostly rotten grains which rot further due to exposure to weather due to inadequate infrastructure.these rotten grains make their way to either ration shops or sold at huge discounts to private parties. private parties make block deals with big farmers and small farmers are indebted to private procurement fellows and sell to them at a discount. this year agriculture has done verywell due to eastern and north east india. let us see what happens to retail prices

dear krish (& rest of the public),

companies like mcdonalds, contracted out, long term growing potatoes for french fries, ie guaranteed price for guaranteed supplies.

this happened a few years back. any feedback as to how this is working out. are the farmers happy? are they eking out a good living?

btw, who was that lady buying those tons of tomatoes? not dear raji the good lady, as i have met her. maybe it is missus of one of the venerable members here?

 

[krish44]

Sir,

That apart the middlemen role, it is also reported by the Agricultural Department Officials that many of farmers in and around Madurai District, who were hitherto growing paddy, have now switched over to cultivating vegetables as the same required minimum water. This may also be one among the reasons for the fall of price of certain vegetables.


Regards

I have been wondering why this has not happened earlier. TN govt in addition to fighting with karnataka for cauvery water could have made an ambitious plan to switch over to items which do not require much water. learn from rajasthan . farmers are growing guargum with drip irrigation and little water. in addition to domestic consumption a,there is a huge export potential for guargum paste since it is a lubricant for oil rigs. there is a big operator in rajasthan who has made several hundred crores . he gives seed s to farmers and money to grow them and manufactures the gum. . he is fighting elections with declared assets of 675 crores and freely distributing money to farmers and fighting as an independant

 

[krish44]

dear krish (& rest of the public),

companies like mcdonalds, contracted out, long term growing potatoes for french fries, ie guaranteed price for guaranteed supplies.

this happened a few years back. any feedback as to how this is working out. are the farmers happy? are they eking out a good living?

btw, who was that lady buying those tons of tomatoes? not dear raji the good lady, as i have met her. maybe it is missus of one of the venerable members here?

companies like pepsi etc go to large farmers and not marginal ones.The end products have flooded the markets and prices are competitive. so one has to assume it is win-win for both. large farmers do not require much support. 28000 cr loan write off during last elections were mostly pocketed by them .they pay no taxes, electricity is subsidised or free.their farm land prices due to recent protective legislation have multiplied. one of my relatives who is a farmer told me that his holdings have multiplied 6 times in 7 years. no contigeous land is easily available for setting up schools or small factories. this is 100 km from hosur in backward district of dharmapuri.it is the landless,or marginal farmers in trouble. of course due to MNREGA and govt doles,farm wages have shot up. people from bihar and up and backward districts service these big farmers, some are their slaves. interestingly another interesting unrelated info. girls due to skewed sex ratio in haryana and punjab[they are not allowed to be born],rural farmers are marrying kerala girls brought there by agents who buy them from their poor parents.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

I have been wondering why this has not happened earlier. TN govt in addition to fighting with karnataka for cauvery water could have made an ambitious plan to switch over to items which do not require much water.

I am happyatleast they switched over to vegetables now. Better late than never.


Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity’s Agritech portal says thatnow there is a new method called the ‘Bread and Sandwich method’. Under this method once the soil is made ready and the suggested practices followed, one need not work on the soil for the second time. They can go on sowing and reaping all through the year according to Dr. G. Nammalvar, Organic Scientist.

Our farmers who stick to conventional methods will take their own time for transformation.

Let us wait and see.

 

[krish44]

I am happyatleast they switched over to vegetables now. Better late than never.


Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity’s Agritech portal says thatnow there is a new method called the ‘Bread and Sandwich method’. Under this method once the soil is made ready and the suggested practices followed, one need not work on the soil for the second time. They can go on sowing and reaping all through the year according to Dr. G. Nammalvar, Organic Scientist.

Our farmers who stick to conventional methods will take their own time for transforma
Let us wait and see.

do you know what will give good returns - coriander,pepper, veg oils,flowers,soymeal. stay away from cotton though there is shortage due cyclone in AP and reduction in area for cultivation. play in the forward markets for these items if you cannot do any farming . you will make a lot of money

 

[V.Balasubramani]

do you know what will give good returns - coriander,pepper, veg oils,flowers,soymeal. stay away from cotton though there is shortage due cyclone in AP and reduction in area for cultivation. play in the forward markets for these items if you cannot do any farming . you will make a lot of money

I know the cashcrops of tamil nadu which are cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds, coffee, tea,rubber, coconut, gingelly and chillies. But the proverb is உழவன் கணக்கு பார்த்தால் உழக்கும் மிஞ்ஜாது.

 

[vgane]

Unless you are a big mirasdar making money in agriculture is herculean...This was what I thought initially...But after seeing the Coorg plantations of Robusta and Arabica and meeting some of the farmers..They are making good money..They also grow spices which adds to the kitty

 

[krish44]

Unless you are a big mirasdar making money in agriculture is herculean...This was what I thought initially...But after seeing the Coorg plantations of Robusta and Arabica and meeting some of the farmers..They are making good money..They also grow spices which adds to the kitty

Vgane ji
do you know something interesting
Coffee production is in excess in india and the world. there are 2 lakh tonnes excess production . however the price reduction if any is unlikely to be passed on to retail level .the cooperatives they have set up takes care of them well.there is a lot of money in spices where there has been 40-50 percent increase in prices in last two years due to declining production. if you track forward trading markets you will learn a lot. I have been eye-ing it for a long time. it would be great to be pepper,coriander merchant to beat idleness and have some excitement in life. you just have to push in a few lakhs. farmers can be told to use kisan credit cards to tap nationalised banks for money at 7percent and return their farm loans from sharks. micro finance fellows have also fleeced them in AP and other places. govt is best . farmers can take loan from nationalised banks. govt will write them off after five years before election

 

[kunjuppu]

I am happyatleast they switched over to vegetables now. Better late than never.


Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity’s Agritech portal says thatnow there is a new method called the ‘Bread and Sandwich method’. Under this method once the soil is made ready and the suggested practices followed, one need not work on the soil for the second time. They can go on sowing and reaping all through the year according to Dr. G. Nammalvar, Organic Scientist.

Our farmers who stick to conventional methods will take their own time for transformation.

Let us wait and see.

i subscribe to pasumai vikatan, and it is a mouthpiece of nammazhvar and organic farming. makes the whole concept look very attractive and easy and money making.

btw, in the dry districts of TN, recently they have started growing dates. enterprising muslims who worked as engineers in saudi, managed to get seeds out (all the mid east countries carefully protect these seeds) and are now selling these date seeds & saplings to encourage growth of date palms. so next time you see dates grown in TN in the market, taste it

 

[krish44]

I know the cashcrops of tamil nadu which are cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds, coffee, tea,rubber, coconut, gingelly and chillies. But the proverb is உழவன் கணக்கு பார்த்தால் உழக்கும் மிஞ்ஜாது.

VB ji
proverbs are out of tune with the times. farmers are having wonderful times even eastern and north eastern India have contributed with record crops. agriculture is contributing 4 percent plus to GDP and industries have crashed.only change in crops is desirable . in dharmapuri and other such areas with dry lands kadalai podarathu is best. TBgirls have been putting this kadalai to all boys in tamilnadu.- by the way. they should welcome this

 

[V.Balasubramani]

VB ji. farmers are having wonderful times

Krish Ji,


I feel happy for your posting # 10, but I furnish an extract of the report which says that in the last five years,135 debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Gujarat because there was no help forthcoming from the state government. But the government refuses to accept that so many farmers killed themselves because they were unable to pay offdebts caused by crop failure and fodder shortage. Instead, the government prefers to dismiss reports of farmer suicides as part of a larger ‘Congress conspiracy’ against it.


On the other hand, experts and activists working among drought-affected farmers of Gujarat say that the figure of 135 deaths in five years is just the tip of the iceberg. They insist that the actual number of farmer suicides in the state is much higher.

In its reply to an application filed under Right to Information (RTI) by activist Bharatsinh Jhala, the state government had revealed that between January 1, 2008 and August 20, 2012, a total of 115 farmers had committed suicide in Gujarat. And most of them had ended their lives because of growing debts caused by crop failure, the RTI reply said."


It is only about Gujarat, a sample. What will be the number for the entire nation?


Source: What drove 135 Gujarat farmers to suicide? | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com

 

[krish44]

Krish Ji,


I feel happy for your posting # 10, but I furnish an extract of the report which says that in the last five years,135 debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Gujarat because there was no help forthcoming from the state government. But the government refuses to accept that so many farmers killed themselves because they were unable to pay offdebts caused by crop failure and fodder shortage. Instead, the government prefers to dismiss reports of farmer suicides as part of a larger ‘Congress conspiracy’ against it.


On the other hand, experts and activists working among drought-affected farmers of Gujarat say that the figure of 135 deaths in five years is just the tip of the iceberg. They insist that the actual number of farmer suicides in the state is much higher.

In its reply to an application filed under Right to Information (RTI) by activist Bharatsinh Jhala, the state government had revealed that between January 1, 2008 and August 20, 2012, a total of 115 farmers had committed suicide in Gujarat. And most of them had ended their lives because of growing debts caused by crop failure, the RTI reply said."


It is only about Gujarat, a sample. What will be the number for the entire nation



Source: What drove 135 Gujarat farmers to suicide? | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com

it is the usual case of borrowing from money lenders and crop failure due to natural causes
it is same all over the country . it is cyclone affecting cotton in AP.
it is draught in maharashtra districts
unless this vicious chain of high interest lending and farming without crop insurance is done away with
there is no solution

 

[prasad1]

it is the usual case of borrowing from money lenders and crop failure due to natural causes
it is same all over the country . it is cyclone affecting cotton in AP.
it is draught in maharashtra districts
unless this vicious chain of high interest lending and farming without crop insurance is done away with
there is no solution

Ok, I buy that. But in India the banks are encouraged to loan at a subsidized rate.

Farmers borrowing crop loans from private banks will also get government's interest subvention scheme, finance minister P Chidambaram said in his 2013 Budget speech.

At present, farmers used to get crop loans at a subsidised 4% a year rate from public sector banks, regional banks and cooperative banks if they repay in time. Farmers who repay loans in time, gets an additional 1% interest subvention from the government over and above 2% general subvention, making the actual rate of 4%. Extending the scheme to private banks will help this set of lenders to achieve their priority sector and direct farm loan targets far more easily. Banks are told to lend 18% of their adjusted net bank credit of last fiscal to the farm sector as a sub target of the total priority target of 40%.

The finance minister has also raised the annual farm loan target by 22% to Rs 7 lakh crore in 2013-14 from 5.75 lakh crore in 2012-13.


Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Read more at:

Budget 2013: Crop loans from private banks will be subsidised too - The Economic Times

Why do they go to money lenders?

 

[prasad1]

In USA too they give farm subsidy.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes between $10 billion and $30 billion in cash subsidies to farmers and owners of farmland each year.. The particular amount depends on market prices for crops, the level of disaster payments, and other factors. More than 90 percent of agriculture subsidies go to farmers of five crops—wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton. More than 800,000 farmers and landowners receive subsidies, but the payments are heavily tilted toward the largest producers.


In addition to routine cash subsidies, the USDA provides subsidized crop insurance, marketing support, and other services to farm businesses. The USDA also performs extensive agricultural research and collects statistical data for the industry. These indirect subsidies and services cost taxpayers about $5 billion each year, putting total farm support at between $15 billion and $35 billion annually.
Agricultural Subsidies | Downsizing the Federal Government

 

[prasad1]

i subscribe to pasumai vikatan, and it is a mouthpiece of nammazhvar and organic farming. makes the whole concept look very attractive and easy and money making.

btw, in the dry districts of TN, recently they have started growing dates. enterprising muslims who worked as engineers in saudi, managed to get seeds out (all the mid east countries carefully protect these seeds) and are now selling these date seeds & saplings to encourage growth of date palms. so next time you see dates grown in TN in the market, taste it

There is no secret to date farming. There is a specific strain for growing dates in India.
On the lines of Gulf countries, dates have been planted in the deserts of Rajasthan. The effort is opening up huge possibilities for date production in Jaisalmer district.


With efforts of the state government, Jaisalmer, the desert district of Rajasthan, has entered into the era of modern agriculture side by side with traditional farming has methods. The date palms have already started growing, thanks to the help of scientists and experts. Earlier growing date in the state's deserts was a long cherished dream.




The agriculture sector working on Indo-Israeli collaboration, started the date research at Sagra-Bhojka farm and after its success, efforts are being made to start a centre of excellence to develop date using Israeli techniques.

Date farming is a success in Jaisalmer - Times Of India

Welcome To Dates India Saliah Dates Nursery

[video=youtube;GqnzrEPp9ho]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqnzrEPp9ho[/video]

 

[prasad1]

"Suicide is a taboo subject, and suicides of young women that have just been married are actually reportable, and investigated by the police. When we sent survey teams to the household and they know the survey teams they're much more likely to report a suicide."


But the one thing that is missing in the way these figures have been reported is any context. It is important to remember that a lot of people live in India and there are a lot of people working in agriculture. Prof Jha says it's important to compare this with other areas of Indian life.


"We estimate in 2010 close to 190,000 suicides, so of all the suicides occurring in India, that would suggest [farmer suicides] are only about 10%."

That is sad statistics, but that is comparable in other poors in India