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Rs 5 a kilo: Uninformed cultivation blamed for cabbage price crash
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Puttalam District Deputy Director of Agriculture Tharangika Shyamali
In yet another example of why uninformed cultivation leads to misfortune, cabbage farmers are selling their produce at giveaway prices though they had a super harvest.
While the prices of other vegetables have gone up in recent weeks, the price of cabbage has plunged to Rs 5 a kilogram, according to farmers in Kalpitiya. Cabbage is grown here as a seasonal crop.
Farmer Cyril Alexander said they had a great harvest but they were unable to make a gain because of the low prices.
Another farmer, K Sarath, said he spent about Rs 300,000 on his cabbage cultivation on one acre of land but he would not be able to recover the cost. Harvesting takes place 90 to 100 days after seeds are planted.
Puttalam district Agriculture Deputy Director Tharangika Shyamali said the problem was due to lack of coordination among farmers in crop selection. She said a large number of Kalpitiya farmers, probably more than 600, decided to grow cabbage because of the favourable weather. As a result, there is a big surplus of cabbage in the market, leading to the price drop.
As a solution, she said her department through its website would advise the farmers on a weekly basis on what crops to grow and how much.
Super cabbage harvest but farmers are hit by low prices Pix and text by Padma Kumari