Vijayapura: Heavy rains in the current year have damaged the kharif crops, including tur, and the compensation is yet to be received. Now the rest of the tur crop has been harvested and the pile has begun. Farmers have also started bringing tur to the market and the prices in the open market have come down. There is a strong demand that the government should immediately procure tur under the support price scheme and come to the aid of the farmers.
Vijayapura is the second largest producer of tur after Kalaburagi. Due to heavy rains in 10 northern districts this year, all crops have been damaged and farmers are in trouble.
In Vijayapura district, tur has been sown in 3.20 lakh hectares in the current monsoon season and 1.68 lakh hectares of tur crop has been damaged due to heavy rains.
This time the yield has also come down. Despite the floods and heavy rains, some of the tur crop has been harvested. The threshing has now begun. Farmers have started selling tur due to material constraints to repay their crop loans.
Traders have reduced the price of tur as farmers have started bringing tur to the market. A week ago, it was Rs 7000 in the open market. There was a price. But now it has come down to Rs 5000-6500.
Traders have brought down the price of tur by taking advantage of the compulsion of the farmers. When farmers ask about this, they say that the tur has not dried up yet and the moisture content has increased. Farmer leaders complained that all the traders talk and reduce the prices.