With lockdown imposed, cashew farmers are in search of place to store stock

Iritty: Cashew farmers are in crisis as they find no place to store their produce. There are 39 primary cooperative groups in the district that collect cashew nuts. Within one week of collections, all the godowns and warehouses are full.

The farmers’ cooperative groups are facing a challenge on how to collect more cashew nuts. 10 to 15 tons of cashew nuts have been collected by each group. If no export takes place, there will be a huge crisis, say cooperative group employees.

The lockdown was imposed at a time when cashew nuts was being harvested. Even small scale farmers had quintals of the produce which couldn’t be sold. With the government announcing that cashew nuts will be procured at Rs 90 per kilo via cooperative groups, farmers are gearing to sell off the produce.

In the morning by the time collection depots are opened, there would be a huge queue of farmers arriving to sell the cashew. Farmers assemble in large numbers resulting in violation of lockdown norms. Even police have been deployed in many places to control the rush.

Within a week, the godown of Ulikkal Service Cooperative Bank collected 10 tons of cashew. The situation is similar at Mattara, Kalyad and Padiyoor bank branches. Now, authorities are in search of a new place to store cashew.

In most cases, farmers are given only a portion of the money. A bill with phone number is provided to them with assurance that the balance amount will be given later.

Though it was earlier informed that the procured cashew will be bought by CAPEX, the procedures for it are being delayed putting the whole industry in crisis. If no export occurs within a week, the procurement of cashew nut will be in crisis.