The Maharashtra farmer had planted brinjal on two acres of land. (Representational)
After being offered a meagre 20 paise per kilogram for his brinjal production, a farmer in Maharashtra destroyed the entire plantation on his land to save himself from incurring further losses.
Rajendra Bawake, from Sakuri village of Ahmednagar, claimed he earned only Rs 65,000 after investing Rs 2 lakh and putting in all his energy to cultivate the brinjal crop.
Frustrated with low income, the farmer uprooted all brinjal plants from his field and threw them away on Sunday.
"I had planted brinjal on two acres of land and laid pipes for drip irrigation. I used fertilisers, pesticides and modern mulching techniques to enhance the production. The total investment came to around Rs 2 lakh. In return, I earned only Rs 65,000," Mr Bawake said today.
The cultivator said he now owes dues worth over Rs 35,000 to fertilisers and pesticide suppliers. "I don't know how I am going to raise that money," he said.
Mr Bawake claimed that when he tried to sell his produce at the wholesale markets in Nashik and Surat, he fetched only 20 paise per kg.
"I never got better returns in the last three-four months and so, I decided to do away with the plantation," he added.
Mr Bawake said he rears three cows at home and needs money to buy fodder for the cattle. "I had hopes from brinjal farming, but now I don't know how to take care of my cattle."
Recently, an onion-grower from Nashik who had to sell his produce for little over Re 1 per kg and fetched only Rs 1,064 for 750 kg of the vegetable, sent his earnings to prime minister Narendra Modi last month as a mark of protest.
Farmers from across the country gathered in New Delhi last Thursday in protest to press for various demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.