Spare a thought for farmers too
The hue and cry over the sky-rocketing prices of vegetables and fruits is understandable but inevitable given the huge gap between the demand and supply positions. Food price inflation, which shows hardly any signs of abating, is a reflection of this gap. It has been accentuated now because of last year’s drought in some parts of India and the heavy rains this year which destroyed a lot of the tomato and onion crops. There has also been a water shortage in several parts of the country, as in Vidarbha, which has led to less production.
In the next couple of months, when a new crop comes, prices will go down again. Ginger, which touched `200 a kg, is said to be a different story, according to farmers who say that less of the crop was planted this year since they did not get a good price last year. But with all vegetables touching not less than `60 a kg, it does not mean that the farmers are getting the advantage of these high prices. Instead, there are the middlemen, traders, and finally the retailers, who all take their commissions. The farmers get the residual prices and the consumer is charged by retailers according to his paying capacity. One can see this in a city where vegetables cost more in upmarket areas than in the less expensive areas.
This demand-supply gap can be reduced if the government encourages the creation of a cold storage chain infrastructure on a big scale for perishable items like vegetables while giving incentives to farmers to grow more. While there is a hue and cry about rising prices, there is never a thought for the farmers when prices fall below their cost of production when the crop is plentiful. The farmers are in the same economy as the consumers and are victims of the rising prices of seeds, pesticides and other raw material, besides the daily cost of living going up. The story of the hunt would have been different had the lion, and not the hunter, written about it. This is the case with the urban bias while dealing with prices of agricultural produce, whether by the government or the media. The government needs to initiate a more balanced policy towards agricultural produce so it is a win-win situation for both the farmer and the consumer.
One does not know whether exports have also led to shortage. According to the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority, India exported fruits and vegetables worth `5,730.85 crore during 2012-13; this consisted of fruits worth `2,467.40 crore and vegetables worth `3,263.45 crore. Onions and potatoes are said to be a significant portion of the export basket.
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