Harshad Kulle, an orange farmer from Madhya Pradesh, said he has suffered a loss of about Rs 10 lakh in just 6-7 days. Heavy rain and hailstorm during the 21-day lockdown has damaged about 10 tonnes (100 quintals) of oranges in Harshad’s orchards in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh.

“Last week, about 10 tonnes of oranges fell from crops due to wind and hail. At the rate of Rs 20/kg, I have suffered a loss of 10 lakh. Because of coronavirus, traders are not coming to pick up the goods. In my area, 80 per cent of farmers cultivate oranges and all of them are now suffering a lot,” Kulle told Gaon Connection over the phone.

Kulle has a six-and-a-half acre orchard situated near Pandhurna — in Maharashtra’s Chhindwara district adjoining Nagpur — known as a big orange mandi. There is large-scale cultivation of oranges in the region. But, due to bad weather before the coronavirus lockdown and then movement restrictions during the lockdown, farmers have suffered huge losses as they could not take their produce to the mandi.

“It rained continuously for two hours and ruined us all. If you (journalists) want to do something for us, help us get orange permits. Oranges are perishable goods; they should continue to move forward in the supply chain. If oranges are not harvested in the next 15-20 days, we will be doomed,” Kulle said.

Orange is the major crop among citrus fruits. In addition, narangi, maltese, sweet lime and kinu are also popular citruses. These fruits are cultivated in 114 countries across the world. China has the highest cultivation of oranges, while most lemons are produced in India.

In India, large-scale orange cultivation is done in Nagpur and in the Vidarbha area of Maharashtra and in Chhindwara, Shajapur, Raigad and Malwa belts in Madhya Pradesh adjoining Nagpur. There are orange orchards in Jhalawar and some other areas, too, in Rajasthan adjoining Madhya Pradesh. Kinu is cultivated in many places in Punjab and Haryana. Farmers make a profit of Rs3-5 lakh per acre when the crop and the rate are good.

Oranges thrive well in sub-tropical climate. In India, orange farmers take two crops a year. Some take a winter crop and others in summer. This year, the orange crop was good due to the good and prolonged monsoon and farmers were earning well. Besides, orange cultivation was affected in China due to the COVID-19 outbreak, benefitting Indian farmers immensely. The windfall, however, did not last due to inclement weather and the lockdown.

Farmers say they will suffer if the crop is not harvested in the next 15-20 days. Farmers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are taking to social media to seek the government’s help.

Pankaj Patidar, a farmer, wrote to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Twitter: “The orange orchards have been fully ripe. If the farmer is not able to sell the fruit within 21 days, the whole produce will rot. The number of plants being high, farmers themselves cannot sell the crop in the mandi, so those who can take the fruit from the garden should be allowed to come to the village.”

In Rajasthan, a farmer has appealed to deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot for help. “The orange crop of farmers in Jhalawar district is deteriorating. Now is the time for orange harvest but because of the ban on vehicles and mandis due to the coronavirus, oranges are not able to reach the mandis. So, I beg on behalf of the farmers with joined hands to open the mandis.”

Narendra Thackeray, a farmer from Chhindwara, said: “A tree yields up to 5-6 crates of oranges or about one quintal. This time, the price had started at Rs 14-15, and, before the coronavirus outbreak, had touched a wholesale rate of Rs 20-22 a kilo. The price would have gone up further in the summer. But in March, the weather did much damage and then came the lockdown. We are not even getting labourers to pick oranges in the orchards.”

In view of the persistent demands and the agrarian crisis due to the lockdown, the Union home ministry has allowed farmers to transport essential goods. The mandis will remain open. Despite the order, transporters were not willing to operate trucks fearing police action due to the strict implementation of the lockdown.

In Madhya Pradesh, Anil Chandulkar, public relations officer of Shajapur district, told Gaon Connection over the phone: “It was difficult in the beginning, but, now, traders are being given passes through the district magistrate. In this region, about 80 per cent of farmers have already sold their oranges. Many farmers were waiting for a good rate and they are the ones who suffered damages due to the hailstorm during the lockdown. Traders are now able to visit them.”

Many farmers did not pick oranges in March due to the heat and Navratri, and they have suffered the most. Farmers say plants will get damaged if oranges are left on them for too long.

Many have advised the farmers to process the oranges by juicing them and making jams that can then be sold after the season. There has been talk of food processing of oranges for a long time in Maharashtra as well as in Madhya Pradesh. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, who has a political connection with Chhindwara, had talked about making jam and beauty products from oranges.

Is making orange products an easy task for ordinary farmers? Vijay Jawandhiya, an agricultural economist living in Pune, Maharashtra, said: “If selling orange products were so easy and profitable, would corporates like Adani-Ambani, who make everything right till salt, not be in this business?”

The impact of the worldwide epidemic of coronavirus is now evident on agriculture. Many countries may soon face a food crisis.

“I have heard that there is no cure for coronavirus as yet, but that those who have good immunity may be able to fight it. Orange has plenty of vitamin C, which increases immunity. Therefore, it must be allowed in the market because it will be good for both the farmers and the common people,” said Kulle.