News
Pumpkin harvest goes unsold
View(s):Pix and Text by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa
Pumpkin farmers are asking the government to provide them a fair price for their harvest or get their pumpkins sold overseas.
The farmers said that they at least expect the government to sell their produce overseas if they fail to create a local market for their produce.
Currently, a pumpkin kilo is sold for Rs 20 to 50, farmers of Galebindunu wewa, Horowpathana, Vilachchiya, Galewela, Dambulla, Padaviya and Siripiura complained.
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- A farmer gazes at a stock of pumpkins with no takers
Local big onion farmers have also been complaining to the government over the lack of sales for their produce.
The potato farmers added that they spend money to cultivate the crop, and spend much effort to harvest, store the produce at their homes, and then again have to pay workers to fill gunny bags of pumpkins and load them on to lorries and transport it to dedicated economic centres, but have to return to their homes with an income which is even insufficient to cover harvesting and transport expenditures.
Some said that even though they spent over Rs 100,000 on the pumpkin harvest, they had resorted to giving away their harvest to people in the area for free and buried the rest of the produce as they were unable to sell it.
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