The lack of adequate marketing facilities for cultivators of organic vegetables and fruits is forcing many young entrepreneurs in the district to quit the field. Neighbourhood groups formed earlier for group farming projects are also withdrawing from the field, unable to generate income from sales.
“Only a few entrepreneurs are still doing individual marketing of organic produce unmindful of dwindling returns. The main disappointment is that there is not much difference between prices of organic and inorganic produce,” says Jaison Maniyeri, a farmer from Kottur panchayat. He rues the lack of government support for marketing organic produce.
The entry of wholesale traders with produce unscientifically classified as ‘organic’ has also hit genuine farmers in the sector. Many young farmers complain that the absence of a screening mechanism to identify fraudsters in the trade has been spoiling the business of genuine cultivators.
