Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh)

Due to erratic weather conditions, crop cultivation has always been a big challenge in Bundelkhand. This time, however, the melon farmers have suffered maximum losses. They could not reach the mandi due to the closure of the market, and now, when things, are opening up, their produce is ruined.

The melon crop of these farmers had just ripened when the nationwide lockdown was announced and the melons could not reach the market. During this period, it sold only for Rs 1-2. Unable to find takers, the farmers left their melons to rot in their fields. Thousands of farmers failed to even recover their costs. The lockdown proved melon cultivation to be a loss-making deal for the farmers.

“I had invested Rs 1.5 lakh and contracted seven acres of land for melon cultivation which cost me Rs 45,000. I could sell melons worth Rs 40,000 due to the lockdown,” said Jamna Vanshkar, 52, a farmer. He lives in Kalathra village in the Lalitpur district.

Jamna has six daughters. One of his daughters was to be married in June. His financial condition was not good. So, he decided to cultivate melons in order to earn adequately to marry his daughter. He had sown melons by borrowing money from other people and with the little savings he had.

In Lalitpur, there are many dams, including Sajnam, Jamni, Shahzad, Govind Sagar, Rajghat, Matatila. Melons are cultivated on a large scale in the filler area of most of these dams. The melons from Bundelkhand are usually sold in the markets of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It’s in great demand in summers. The farmers sow this crop for additional profit after their rabi wheat harvest.

Jamna too had hoped for a good crop. He said: “I borrowed money, invested money from my savings and leased the land, so that I could get my daughter married. The lockdown was announced soon after the melon crop was harvested. The melons could not reach the markets are rotting in fields. I was devastated. When the market reopened, melons were about to go off-season. I got Rs 8 to 10 per melon. At this rate, I can’t cover up my losses.”

Talking about his worries, Jamna said: “My daughter is to be married on June 14. I have suffered losses by cultivating melons. I am now worried about whether to repay my loan or to arrange for the money for my daughter’s wedding.”

Jamna is not alone. All the farmers who had cultivated melons melon and watermelons in thousands of acres across the district have suffered losses because of the lockdown.