Rajasthan
Guava farmers look for ways to deal with frequent insect attacks, free fall in prices
A bunch of women sit along the highway close to Karmoda village with crates full of guavas beside them. “Chalis rupaye kilo (Rs 40 per kg),” they shout at the passing stream of vehicles. “These are the best in Rajasthan,” they add in chorus. The women willingly sell guavas to anyone who offers Rs 30 or even Rs 25 a kg.
Karmoda village in Sawai Madhopur district is famous for its guavas.Many villagers have been growing guavas on their fields for generations here. But the women said the guava farmers have been suffering huge losses for the past four-five years.
“We are hardly getting a proper price for our guavas for some years. Nearly half our produce gets damaged because of insect attacks every year. The insects enter the guavas by boring holes into them, causing yield loss. The plants, too, get damaged after that,” said Kaluram Saini, a farmer in Karmoda village.
With the assembly polls nearing, the farmers often discuss the electoral scene in Sawai Madhopur constituency while talking about the sale of guavas. Congress’s Danish Abrar, the sitting MLA, is pitted against BJP’s Kirori Lal Meena, a Rajya Sabha member. “There is a 50-50 chance for both,” said one of the farmers as others in the group nodded in concurrence.
“My three-bigha land is lying empty. I will grow wheat now. In the guava season, I spent about Rs 2,000 on each plant. I can grow 80 guava plants on each bigha, but 15 to 20 plants on each bigha get damaged every year. I suffered a loss of around Rs 40,000 this year,” said Kaluram Saini.
His 80-year-old father Prabhu Lal Sani said the family used all kinds of insecticides and pesticides on the guava field to get rid of the insects, nothing worked. “The insects leave the fruit only after we pour kerosene. There is no permanent solution yet for this menace. The administration tried hard to stop the outbreak of insects but failed,” he said.
Traders buy guavas from the farmers at prices ranging between Rs 15 and Rs 20 per kg and sell them away between Rs 30 and Rs 40 per kg. The farmers work as daily-wage labourers in the off-season and earn Rs 250 to Rs 300 a day.
Chhitar, 60, who sold guavas near the highway, said he suffered a loss of Rs 1 lakh this season as he had contracted out his land to a farmer. “I invested Rs 2 lakh for guavas this year. Half the produce was damaged,” he said.
Inadequate rainfall this year has reduced guava production, said Ramraj Meena, the joint director of the agriculture department in Sawai Madhopur. “The farmers have not been getting proper price for their produce for the past four years. Orchards do get affected by insects, but it is not a major problem. We encourage farmers to use pheromone traps and solar traps.”
Karmoda village in Sawai Madhopur district is famous for its guavas.Many villagers have been growing guavas on their fields for generations here. But the women said the guava farmers have been suffering huge losses for the past four-five years.
“We are hardly getting a proper price for our guavas for some years. Nearly half our produce gets damaged because of insect attacks every year. The insects enter the guavas by boring holes into them, causing yield loss. The plants, too, get damaged after that,” said Kaluram Saini, a farmer in Karmoda village.
With the assembly polls nearing, the farmers often discuss the electoral scene in Sawai Madhopur constituency while talking about the sale of guavas. Congress’s Danish Abrar, the sitting MLA, is pitted against BJP’s Kirori Lal Meena, a Rajya Sabha member. “There is a 50-50 chance for both,” said one of the farmers as others in the group nodded in concurrence.
“My three-bigha land is lying empty. I will grow wheat now. In the guava season, I spent about Rs 2,000 on each plant. I can grow 80 guava plants on each bigha, but 15 to 20 plants on each bigha get damaged every year. I suffered a loss of around Rs 40,000 this year,” said Kaluram Saini.
His 80-year-old father Prabhu Lal Sani said the family used all kinds of insecticides and pesticides on the guava field to get rid of the insects, nothing worked. “The insects leave the fruit only after we pour kerosene. There is no permanent solution yet for this menace. The administration tried hard to stop the outbreak of insects but failed,” he said.
Traders buy guavas from the farmers at prices ranging between Rs 15 and Rs 20 per kg and sell them away between Rs 30 and Rs 40 per kg. The farmers work as daily-wage labourers in the off-season and earn Rs 250 to Rs 300 a day.
Chhitar, 60, who sold guavas near the highway, said he suffered a loss of Rs 1 lakh this season as he had contracted out his land to a farmer. “I invested Rs 2 lakh for guavas this year. Half the produce was damaged,” he said.
Inadequate rainfall this year has reduced guava production, said Ramraj Meena, the joint director of the agriculture department in Sawai Madhopur. “The farmers have not been getting proper price for their produce for the past four years. Orchards do get affected by insects, but it is not a major problem. We encourage farmers to use pheromone traps and solar traps.”
