Ooty carrot prices crash dramatically in Nilgiris, farmers use them to feed cattle
Nilgiris carrot farmers are facing severe losses as auction prices plunged from ₹80 to ₹12 per kilogram, forcing devastated producers to feed their harvest to cattle amid soaring cultivation costs.
Nilgiris carrot farmers are facing severe losses as auction prices plunged from ₹80 to ₹12 per kilogram, forcing devastated producers to feed their harvest to cattle amid soaring cultivation costs.
Nilgiris carrot farmers are facing severe losses as auction prices plunged from ₹80 to ₹12 per kilogram, forcing devastated producers to feed their harvest to cattle amid soaring cultivation costs.
Gudalur: Carrot growers in the Nilgiris are facing mounting losses as prices have plunged from as high as ₹80 per kilogram to between ₹12 and ₹22 per kg. The sharp decline has been reported at the auction centres in Mettupalayam, the main market for Ooty carrots, leaving farmers struggling to recover their cultivation costs.
The Ooty carrot is the backbone of the region’s hill-vegetable agriculture, but it comes with steep production costs. Growers put in grueling labor, setting out to the fields as early as 3:00 AM to harvest the crop so it reaches the Mettupalayam auctions by 8:00 AM. To make matters worse, deficient rainfall this season forced farmers to spend heavily on water tankers just to keep their crops alive.
Now, with prices falling far below the cost of cultivation and transport, devastated farmers are choosing to feed their freshly harvested produce to cattle rather than sell it at a crippling loss.