Pineapple farmers of Lakhimpur hit by lockdown

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: The adverse situation of COVID-19 and the pandemic-induced lockdown have seriously hit the pineapple farmers of Lakhimpur district of late. At present, more than 200 pineapple farmers of the district have lost their income as they are unable to sell their products due to the ongoing lockdown in the district.

Notably, Tariyani under Boginadi Development Block of the district is said to be the pineapple hub of North Assam. Over 200 families living in the place cultivate pineapples every year. The life and livelihood of at least two to four families, as agricultural workers, are also involved with these farmers. The pineapple farming is the only means of earning their livelihood for the year because they can cultivate no other crops, the area being a shallow land geographically. The pineapple farms they own stretch from one hectare to two hectares in area. The farmers have to invest Rs 1lakh to Rs 2 lakh for cultivating pineapples each year. Seasonally, the matured pineapples begin to ripe from the first week of July. Then the harvest is sold at the nearby market and to the wholesalers along with the retail sellers too. The pineapples produced at Tariyani are known for its unique taste and flavour and juice bearing capacity. Therefore, these pineapples are exported to Itanagar, Naharlagun and Pachighat of Arunachal Pradesh in addition to various place of North Assam including Upper Assam after Bogibeel Bridge over the River Brahmaputra was inaugurated.

But this year, these pineapple farmers have been unable sell their products so far due to the total lockdown declared in Lakhimpur by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) since July 7 owing to high positivity rate of COVID-19 in the district during the recent days. As a consequence, the matured pineapples have begun to rot in the plants. If the lockdown period lasts long, the farmers will lost the rest of the products in their farms. Like this year, the adverse situation of the pandemic and lockdown had affected these farmers last year too. With the heavy loss of two consecutive years, these farmers are finding it difficult to survive. Under such circumstances, these affected farmers have urged the Agriculture Minister to extend a helping hand for their welfare and betterment.

Also Read: Nagaland pineapple farmers face tough times due to impact of COVID-19

Also Watch: