Tomato prices crash in Jhabua district of MP, farmers worried

With the wholesale price of tomato tumbling to Rs 2 or 3 per kg, the farmers in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh are left with no option but to feed the lower-quality produce to the cattle or to dump it in compost pits.

Around six thousand tomato farmers in the tribal- dominated district are a worried lot due to falling prices.

Yogesh Septa, a farmer, said wholesale price of good-quality tomato had nosedived to Rs 2 or 3 per kg.

"This doesn't even recover the cost of production and transportation," he rued.

After picking quality tomatoes for sale in the wholesale market, the remaining produce is fed to the cattle or used to make manure, he said.
 

He demanded storage and processing facility for the perishable fruit-vegetable.

Madhya Pradesh horticulture department's assistant director Vijay Singh said there was not a single cold storage facility in Jhabua district, but efforts were underway to set up one.

Around 6,000 farmers grow tomato in the district over 4,000 hectares, he said.