Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 30: Garlic farmers in Pulwama district today said that they have suffered huge financial losses this season following a steep fall in garlic prices and the absence of proper marketing facilities.
Several farmers who had shifted from traditional crops to garlic cultivation, hoping to benefit from last year’s high prices, say they are now reeling under losses as rates have halved.
Garlic, which fetched around Rs 90 per kg last year, is being sold at just Rs 42-Rs 43 per kg this season.
“Last year, garlic was sold at Rs 90 per kg. This year, the rate has fallen to Rs 42-Rs 43 per kg. We were hopeful after seeing last year’s rates, but this year has been a disaster,” Mushtaq Ahmad, a farmer said.
Gowhar Ahmad Najar, a farmer from Banoora, said he cultivated garlic on four kanals of land, spending about Rs 60 per kilogram on inputs like seeds, fertilizers and labour.
“This season, I got only Rs 42 per kg, which means I incurred a loss of Rs 18 on every kilogram. Overall, I have lost nearly Rs 3 lakh,” he said.
Farmers blame the lack of structured marketing avenues for their distress. “Unlike apples and cherries, garlic is not sold in Government-regulated mandis. There is no organized platform where we can fetch better prices. If garlic were treated like apples or cherries and marketed properly, we could have earned fair returns,” Najar added.
Several farmers in the area said they converted their land into garlic fields expecting good profits, but the absence of price regulation and market access left them vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen.
The growers urged Government to take immediate action. “The administration must investigate the reasons behind the losses and create policies to promote garlic farming,” a group of farmers said.
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