Due to a bumper crop, wholesale prices of tomato in Madhya Pradesh have plummeted to as low as Rs two per kg from Rs 30 in October, farmers said.
Yogesh Septa, a farmer from Raipuria village in Petlawad area of Jhabua district, a major tomato-producing region, said, "We are getting on average Rs two per a kilogram of tomatoes in wholesale markets. We won't recover even the production and harvesting cost at this price."
The wholesale price was between Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg in October, but it fell due to a sudden bumper crop this month, he said.
Farmers' organisations have demanded that the state government take steps to protect the interests of tomato-producer farmers.
Madhya Pradesh Kisan Sena secretary Jagdish Rawalia said there was a shortage of facilities such as cold storages and processing units.
"The government should encourage farmers to set up small cold storage facilities and processing units rather than helping big industrialists," he said.
Kedar Sirohi, founder of Aam Kisan Union, said the state government should bring tomato farmers under its Bhavantar Yojana, where farmers are paid the difference between market price and support price of a crop whenever the market prices fall.
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