Ballari farmer dumps tomato produce by roadside as prices fall sharply

BALLARI: With the sharp fall in tomato prices, a farmer from Sirwar in the district, dumped his produce by the side of a road as he was unable to meet his expenses.

The farmer, Gadilingappa, said, “Tomato is selling at Rs 10 per kg in the market and the traders are offering only Rs 80-100 per crate. I can’t even recover the cost of labour and the transportation charges”.

Gadilingappa said he had spent about Rs 1 lakh to cultivate tomato on 1.5 acres of land. But due to the effect of the cyclone, his tomato crop had developed the tomato spotted wilt disease. The fluctuation in weather due to the cyclonic effect has affected tomato crop across the state, causing prices to drop sharply.