A farmer from the village of Khanmantvari, belonging to the Bid district, found himself in a double crisis due to lack of rain and the sale of agricultural products at meager prices. Mahadev Karad, a farmer from the settlement of Khanmantvari, Bid district, was forced to uproot and discard his tomato harvest, which grew on four acres, because he could not obtain a fair price in the market.
Despite spending about 200 thousand rupees on agriculture, he managed to earn only 40 thousand rupees from the four acres. Initially, the price of tomatoes was 200 rupees per qirat, but it then sharply dropped to 80 rupees per qirat (approximately 4 rupees per kilogram). At such low prices, it became impossible to cover the costs of harvesting and transporting to the market. As a result, the farmer had to make the difficult decision to uproot the remaining crop directly in the field.
The situation is exacerbated by the additional expense of over 30 thousand rupees for labor wages to uproot the crop. After investing 200 thousand rupees and earning only 40 thousand rupees, along with incurring extra costs for destroying the harvest, Karad faced a double crisis. He made this sad decision to get rid of the crop grown through his own efforts.
The table shows the financial indicators: total costs for 4 acres amounted to 200,000 rupees, income received after the price drop was 40,000 rupees, and labor costs for removing the crop were 30,000 rupees, resulting in a net economic loss of 190,000 rupees.
Farmer Karad expressed indignation, noting that on one hand, soybeans are drying up due to lack of rain, and on the other, tomato prices are not rising. He also noted that the prices of pulses and sugar have soared in the market, while his harvest is being sold for next to nothing. He demanded that the government establish a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for vegetables, similar to how it is done for onions. The farmer stated that claims of insurance and subsidies remain mere declarations, and he receives no real help. Now he has no other choice but to take out another loan for the next harvest.
Mahadev Karad specified that 40-42 thousand rupees were spent on planting, 50 thousand rupees on pesticide spraying, and a total of 200 thousand rupees on harvesting and transportation to the market, yet he only received 40 thousand rupees. Furthermore, he had to pay 30 thousand rupees to female workers for removing the crop. He insists on establishing a procurement price for tomatoes, similar to what the government sets for onions.