“As plenty of water was available like never before in our drought-prone region, I went for banana crop in 11 acres, investing Rs 15-20 lakh.
VIJAYAWADA: Good rains and sufficient groundwater in the last six months were conducive for horticulture crops in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Rayalaseema region, and farmers cultivated crops such as banana, water and muskmelon, sweet orange, mango in large tracts. However, the farmers who were happy to see the back of drought in districts like Anantapur and Kadapa, are now disappointed as they have another setback due to COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown across the country.
“As plenty of water was available like never before in our drought-prone region, I went for banana crop in 11 acres, investing Rs 15-20 lakh. I was ready to engage farmhands to harvest the crop, but now not a single farmhand is ready to come for work. They are afraid of contracting coronavirus and we cannot say anything. Further, even if we harvest the crop, where should we sell it? There is no demand, as there are no markets across the country and even retail markets have been shut,” rued B Ramana Reddy of Dadithota village in Tadimarri mandal of Anantapur district.
