No Rain

In his farm at Kembanur, 20 km from Coimbatore, S. Rathinasamy points to a barren patch of land with withered plants bearing tomatoes barely the size of a gooseberry. “A recent hailstorm destroyed nearly two acres of my crops,” he says. Mr. Rathinasamy’s farm is reeling under a spell of bad weather that has dampened his business prospects for the season.

For the last 30 years, he has been cultivating vegetables on five acres. From rising labour charges to the havoc caused by climate change, the seasoned farmer has seen it all. And, he has learned to live with the uncertainty. “For 10 kg tomatoes I got Rs.200 just 20 days ago. Today it is Rs.80,” he says. Though 10 kg has fetched Rs.80, what Mr. Rathinasamy ultimately gets is Rs.67-minus the transportation and commission costs.

He has been concentrating on tomato cultivation for the last four years. When the yield is good and the climatic conditions are favourable, he can get about 2,000 kg of tomatoes from an acre. But, he has not been able to get more than 1,000 kg, he laments. Sustenance of the farm is an expensive affair for a farmer like him. Right from the preparation of the land, which costs around Rs.4,500 an acre, to fertilizers at Rs.2,500 an acre, seedlings at Rs.3,000 and the sticks used for supporting the saplings at Rs.7,000, the spiralling costs are a source of worry. This is excluding the labour charges, which account for the largest share, Mr. Rathinasamy says.

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