Prices of banana have shot up in Aluva and its suburbs to Rs 65 a kilo. The sudden escalation of prices has been attributed to the large-scale destruction of banana cultivation due to the torrential rain and flooding over the last few days. A price rise in all products is usual during the days prior to festivals, but the sudden hike has nothing to do with festivities, said Rishab, a wholesale banana merchant in Aluva.
The farmers in Kalady, Thuravunkara, Kanjoor and other areas by the banks of Periyar were engaged in large-scale banana cultivations in view of the market price becoming steady at Rs 45 a kilo over the last few months and the price seemed lucrative for agriculturists, said Rishab. According to a farmer in Thurvunkara, his banana cultivation of more than two acres was completely destroyed despite his efforts to save the plants by employing extra hands to give them a prop when the weather reports predicted strong wind and heavy rain due to a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
The rain and wind hit them heavily and each banana touched the ground in the strong winds, said Kochouseph, an agriculturist from Thuravunkara. He said he lost more than Rs 1 lakh (100,000) as more than 1,000 bananas were uprooted. Kochouseph’s is not a singular case, hectares of banana cultivations have been damaged in the recent floods. Devassy, a farmer from Kanjoor, said that this was the first time he ventured into cultivating vegetables as a mid crop.
The farmers in Kalady, Thuravunkara, Kanjoor and other areas by the banks of Periyar were engaged in large-scale banana cultivations in view of the market price becoming steady at Rs 45 a kilo over the last few months and the price seemed lucrative for agriculturists, said Rishab. According to a farmer in Thurvunkara, his banana cultivation of more than two acres was completely destroyed despite his efforts to save the plants by employing extra hands to give them a prop when the weather reports predicted strong wind and heavy rain due to a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
The rain and wind hit them heavily and each banana touched the ground in the strong winds, said Kochouseph, an agriculturist from Thuravunkara. He said he lost more than Rs 1 lakh (100,000) as more than 1,000 bananas were uprooted. Kochouseph’s is not a singular case, hectares of banana cultivations have been damaged in the recent floods. Devassy, a farmer from Kanjoor, said that this was the first time he ventured into cultivating vegetables as a mid crop.
