The Hindu : Drought hits horticulture; fruit prices may rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Drought hits horticulture; fruit prices may rise

By Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE NOV. 11. The cloud seeding operations to induce rain have not brought the desired result in several districts of North Karnataka where horticultural crops are grown. Most of the horticultural crops have been affected in Bijapur, Bagalkot, and Belgaum districts due to scarcity of water and this may lead to a rise in fruit prices in the coming months.

Horticultural crops such as grapes, pomegranate, banana, sapota, papaya, and lemon have been hit by water scarcity. Nearly 60 per cent of the standing crops has been affected, B.A. Channappa Gowda, Managing Director, Karnataka Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation (KAPPEC) told The Hindu.

Farmers have grown grapes on 10,000 acres of land in Bijapur district. Of this, nearly 6,000 acres has been affected due to scarcity of water and lack of irrigation facilities. To save their crops, a few farmers have been bringing water in tankers. The price used to be Rs. 400 per tanker of water in October, but it has increased to Rs. 1,200 now. Small growers cannot afford to buy water at this price to save their crops, Mr. Gowda says.

Bijapur district produced 1.20 lakh tonnes of grapes last year. But this year the production will be half that figure. A similar situation prevails in Bagalkot and Belgaum districts. A few farmers in have been cultivating crops using the backwaters of the Alamatti Dam in Bagalkot. But the crops of a large number of farmers have withered. Farmers in Belgaum district have started cultivating vegetables that require water only for a short duration.

The Managing Director and officials of KAPPEC, and S.D. Shikhamany, Director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, visited Bijapur and Bagalkot districts last week and held meetings with growers to ascertain their problems. The face many problems such as inadequate irrigation facilities, inefficient farm management, unorganised marketing system, and poor road connectivity. The Bijapur District Grape Growers' Association had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, during his "Janaspandana Yatra" seeking marketing support for grapes.

KAPPEC recently submitted a proposal to the Centre through the State Commissioner of Industries and Commerce to seek funds from the Union Government under the Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development for Export (ASIDE) scheme. It has sought Rs. 3.75 crore under the scheme to provide infrastructural support to fruit-growing districts such as Bijapur, Bagalkot, and Belgaum. If the funds are released, it will be used to provide facilities such as pre-cooling units, cold storages, refrigerated vans, and packing houses, Mr. Gowda says.

To procure grapes for export this season, KAPPEC has identified grapes being grown by nine farmers on 37 acres. For the second consecutive year, KAPPEC has roped in a Hyderabad-based firm, Sam Agritech, to procure the Thomson variety of seedless grapes directly from farmers in Bijapur district.

In collaboration with the Independent Fruit Trading Company based in the Netherlands, KAPPEC exported 29 tonnes of the Thomson variety grapes to Europe in the last season.

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