The 300-odd small farmers, belonging to Thummanatti vegetable growing cluster in the Nilgiris, are an aggrieved lot. The hailstorm which struck the area recently has affected garlic, radish, beetroot and peas crops.
“These crops were fully grown, ready for harvest, when the hailstorm struck the area,” says the Promoter-Director and Chief Executive of the Nilgiris Horti Tech Co (P) Ltd, Mr H.N. Sivan.
Mr Sivan estimates the area under vegetables in Thummanatti cluster is around 1,000 acres. “The impact has been severe in about 150 acres and the loss, estimated at Rs 15 crore,” he said.
According to him, a majority of the growers had invested their own funds to raise the crop.
Just over a month back, Mr Sivan told Business Line that leading five star hotel chains and shopping malls across the country were in dialogue with the Nilgiris Horti Tech Co for sourcing their requirement of fruits and vegetables.
Recalling the success of the floriculture and horticulture cluster projects in the hill district, Mr Sivan said: “We started the floriculture cluster in 2004 with 100 units, involving 100 small farmers. In the early days of this initiative, the average annual income from cut flower production was Rs 3 crore. Now, 10 floriculture clusters are in place, covering three lakh sq m under green houses and benefiting 1,500 small farmers. The income has also risen to over Rs 35 crore.”
In 2007, Mr Sivan and groups of farmers growing vegetables and fruits in the Nilgiris floated another cluster – Nilgiris Horti-Tech Co – for marketing the produce under the ‘Ooty Fresh' brand.
This is a consortium of around 2,000 farmers. They grow vegetables such as asparagus, avocado, celery, lettuce, parsley, iceberg lettuce and Chinese cabbage.
“Only around 2,000 farmers out of 20,000 small farmers in the district have become members of this cluster. The business potential is huge, for the demand is not just from domestic buyers but overseas markets as well. We are already exporting flowers, vegetables and fruits such as strawberry, plums, peaches, avocado, durian and so on, to West Asia, Singapore and Malaysia. While demand is on the rise, the district lacks marketing yards, cold storage infrastructure, good roads and processing units to contain the loss, as these agri-produce have limited shelf-life.”
The total value of the fruits and vegetables at farm gate is roughly Rs 1,100 crore a year, he said.