Bokaro farmers have been facing problems in selling their seasonal fruits and vegetables since the onset of the lockdown, as tonnes of their produce are getting spoiled in the farmlands with a lack of market.

The district agriculture department has begun a survey of the loss faced by farmers with their vegetables lying in fields without buyers. Farmers in almost all rural areas of the eight blocks in the district are facing similar problems with vegetables piled up in their farmland without buyers.

Nearly 85 tonnes of watermelon are stocked by farmers at the farmland in Kander village of Kander Panchayat under Gomia Block. They now are worried about what to do with it without buyers. Randhir Mahato and Ranjan Mahato, the two youths who cultivated watermelons, said they had planted watermelons in five acres of land. A week ago they sold 25 tonnes of watermelon to a supplier of Bengal. After that, another 25 tonnes were harvested, but there were no buyers this time.

Raju Kumar and four other farmers have about 40 tonnes of watermelon lying in the fields in Kander. Ashok Kumar Mahato, a farmer, said that his produce has been lying in the field for three days. Apart from this, 50 to 60 tonnes of watermelon from other farmers are also lying in the fields in the absence of a market. Farmers in Chandankiyari Block too are facing similar problems as they are not getting buyers for the vegetables.

Before the onset of the second wave, the farmers had cultivated seeds believing it would bring them good profit, but the Health Safety Week imposed by the state government due to rising cases of coronavirus has shattered everything. They cannot even go to vegetable markets in urban areas as market timing and footfall of customers have reduced. Farmers also cannot bear the excessive fare to transport their vegetables and watermelons in this period.

Uncertainty over how many days this partial lockdown will continue has also refrained buyers and suppliers to purchase vegetables from farmers. In Kasmar and Jaridih blocks, farmers said that they do not understand what to do in this situation. The farmers are demanding from the government and district administration to take necessary initiatives in this direction to save them.

District agriculture officer, Rajeev Kumar Mishra said, “We have asked circle officers of all the blocks to collect ground reports of the difficulties and losses faced by farmers, after which we would report to the state government to provide relief. Vegetables and seasonal fruits are more or less piled up in every block without a market in this Covid situation. We are working out ways to come up with the situation.”