Farm produce in Arunchal village rots due to lack of markets

Farmers of Dado, a tiny hamlet in Arunachal Pradesh famous for its organic farm produce, are struggling to make ends meet as they claim a major chunk of agricultural goods has been rotting due to lack of government support and market linkages.
"A portion of our produce is supplied to Itanagar and local markets but a major chunk is left for want of buyers," says village headman Dado Taro.
The local markets are not enough to sell organic products which are being cultivated without any government support and technical knowhow, he added.
Perched atop a hillock overlooking the mighty Kurung river, Dado village in newly-created Kra Daadi district has a population of hardly 400, majority of whom are farmers.

These farmers depend on the sale of their agricultural goods - vegetables, fruits and spices - to earn their living.
They cultivate oranges, large cardamoms, papayas and tomatoes besides coffee to a small extent.

Taro said the monthly income of each family in the village is only around Rs 5,000-6,000.
"If the state government introduces some income generating schemes in agriculture and horticulture sector for the village, the economic condition of the people will improve and the people can earn to about Rs three to four lakh annually through agriculture activities," he said.
45-year-old Dado Rajendra, who cultivates large cardamoms, oranges, pineapples and papayas in his 10 hectares of farm land, blamed the government for not extending logistics to farmers.

"Time and again we have been asking the agriculture and horticulture departments to provide us technical knowledge besides medicine and fencing materials but in vain," he said, adding there were only six government employees in the village.