Tamil Nadu - Others   

Storage facility remains a dream for ryots

S. Prasad

Cold storage available only for tamarind

Hosur: A long-pending demand of farmers of Hosur and Denkanikottai for setting up cold storage facility to improve the market infrastructure and avail themselves of better prices for their produce is yet to be addressed.

A salubrious climate, better soil conditions and proximity to the Bangalore airport have made Hosur one of the prime agricultural belts in the State. The total vegetable production in Hosur and Denkanikottai taluks alone is estimated to be around 7,813 hectares with an annual production of 1,20,284 tonnes.

"With 82 per cent of the total vegetable produce in Krishnagiri district coming from the Hosur and Denkanikottai taluks, there was an urgent need to bring in post-storage harvest facilities and other market infrastructure to the local farmers to increase their output and get better prices for their vegetables," the president of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Association, B. Venkatasamy, told The Hindu .

The major vegetables grown in the Hosur - Denkanikottai belt are potato, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, carrot and chillies. Potato is cultivated in about 5,000 hectares followed by tomato in 2,800 hectares, cabbage - 1200 hectares, carrot - 350 hectares and beetroot - 330 hectares.

The peak season for vegetables, especially horticultural crops, is between November - June. Being a perishable commodity, farmers are forced to dispose of their produce immediately. Establishment of cold storage facility by the Government would help the farmers in preserving the agricultural produce during lean period and thereby avail better prices and also provide vegetables at cheaper price to consumers, Mr. Venkatasamy added.

Despite being a horticultural and floricultural belt, post-harvest storage facilities still remain a distant dream for majority of the farmers in Hosur and Denkanikottai. At present, cold storage facility is available only for tamarind in the district. As a result, vegetables and cut flowers from Hosur are preserved in cold storage in Bangalore at a monthly rate of Rs. 12 to 15 per gunny bag. At times, the produce is preserved for days together to get a better price thereby, causing loss to farmers.

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