Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Mar 30: The farming community has been battered by the menace of wild animals, shortage of agricultural labourers etc. Increase in the cost of fuel added to their woes. Now they need harvester machines to harvest rabi season crops but the hourly rentals of these machines have suddenly turned towards the sky. Poor farmers are worried, and still are compelled to hire these machines.
Rabi season crops are now ready for harvest. Harvesting is going on at a brisk pace at Brahmavar, Kokkarne, Harady, Siddapur and other places where agricultural land is backed by Varahi irrigation project.
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Since the last some years, hire charges of these machines have been escalating. There is no proper control mechanism. The rental which stood at Rs 2,200 during the previous Khariff and Rabi seasons, has gone up suddenly to Rs 2,500 this time. Farmers have to pay higher prices. As the district has only eight machines under the 'Yantradhara' scheme of the government they are dependent on other machines. There is a shortage of labourers after the Covid lockdown and therefore, owners of harvester machines enjoy the power to fix prices at their whims and fancies.
Paddy cultivators say that they get very low yield in the Rabi season and they cultivate just to ensure that the land does not lay barren. They say the cost of operations is high for rabi but yield is low. Raveendra Gujjarabettu, secretary of Udupi District Krishik Sangh, says that the harvester machines have jacked the rental because of hike in fuel prices. He said that competition among the farmers to get their harvests cut first, has come to the advantage of harvester owners. He wants the government officials and machine owners to sit together and fix reasonable rent.
Joint director in the department of agriculture, Kempe Gowda, said that the machines with the department are being used for harvesting. He said that so far no complaints about excessive charges were received and that the department will look into it.