No cash means farmers can't sell their tomatoes to wholesellers, opting to feed them to sheep
The shortage of hard cash, ever since the government announced banning of old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes, has also had an impact on farmers in Karnataka's Kolar region - an area well-known for its tomatoes. With not enough ready cash for wholesellers to buy their product or to send their crop to market, some farmers find it more useful to let their livestock eat it.
Sheep at one Kolar farm were being allowed to polish off the tomato crop from the crates into which the fruit had been collected. The farmers feel this at least is one way the crop delivers some value.
"500 and 1000 rupee notes are banned so the cash angle is just not working out. There is no sale in the market. There are buyers but they come with old notes, so farmers are not taking that. Sale is now nil... People are not coming here to buy either. So what we are harvesting, we are giving to small shops or giving it to the animals," farmer Munibyregowda told NDTV.
With the drop in wholesale purchases, tomatoes collecting at the region where they are grown, and the glut has led to a fall in prices. Srinivas Gowda has been farming in Kolar for 40 years - and says that this has been the worst year.
"Production cost these days of tomatoes is very high ranging from Rs 5-7 per kg. But we are selling it for only Rs 2-3 rs per kg so we are facing a lot of loss. Whatever we earned in two to three years, we are spending it all in one crop," he said.
But he says there is still hope that the cash ban will benefit the country in the long term.
"We know it is for short term, so we are hoping for better financial status of the country soon and we will be happy for the same. If it is for short term, we don't have any problem but it shouldn't remain the same for long time," he said.