Farmers Distress In Merapani: Tomatoes Sold At Re 1 Per Kg; Memorandum Submitted To Agriculture Officer

Photo: Dilshiri

Merapani, June 01: The local farming families in Merapani and nearby Doyang region under Golaghat district are facing a severe financial breakdown. A massive drop in open-market prices combined with zero cold storage options has left these hardworking growers helpless, making it impossible to get even a decent return for their crops. To raise their voice against this worsening crisis, a joint team of farmer leaders and local public bodies visited the District Agriculture Officer in Golaghat on Monday to submit a detailed memorandum. The group urgently requested the state government to step in with immediate financial relief packages to protect the rural livelihood.

A large number of small-scale cultivators put all their life savings into the fields this season, with many even taking high-interest loans from local banks and private lenders to grow tomatoes. Sadly, unexpected market shifts turned everything upside down, causing a complete crash in tomato prices.

While the retail cost of everyday farming supplies like quality seeds, fertilizers, and crop medicines went up rapidly, the actual market value of tomatoes dropped so low that farmers are now forced to clear their fresh stock at just one or two rupees per kilo. Finding no other way out, many heartbroken farmers have started feeding their fresh tomato yields to farm cattle instead of spending extra money on hiring vehicles for transport. Since there are no local food processing factories around, thousands of kilos of good, ripe tomatoes are simply left to rot away on the open farmlands.

Key Structural Demands of the Aggrieved Farmers

To find a permanent cure for this recurring seasonal crisis, the local farmers' delegation highlighted a strict 8-point demand list before the district authorities:

Permanent Marketing Centers: Establishing dedicated government agriculture marketing facilities across the sub-division.

Minimum Support Price (MSP): Setting up a fixed, guaranteed minimum support price system for highly perishable horticultural crops like tomatoes.

Financial Relief Package: Launching a direct cash compensation relief plan for families suffering massive losses this crop season.

Land Rights for Tillers: Providing proper land titles and official patta documents to landless farmers working on leased blocks.

Cold Storage Infrastructure: Setting up a modern, electricity-backed cold storage facility in the Doyang belt to save unsold harvests.

Interest Waiver: Waiving off the complete interest burden on running agricultural loans taken from cooperative or nationalized banks.

Food Processing Units: Inviting small-scale agro-industries and tomato ketchup processing units to the local region.

Technical Training: Providing modern smart farming workshops and budget management skills to local rural youths.

The farming community has clearly stated that if the state agriculture department fails to look into their grievances quickly, they will be forced to launch heavy democratic agitations across the district routes to protect their fundamental livelihoods.