BURNT FLOWERS TO CASHEW CRUNCH

As summer peaked earlier than usual, cashew flowers got burnt before maturing into fruit, leading to farmers incurring huge loss

- BAGALAVAN PERIER B

DISAPPOINTMENT and frustration are writ large in the face of A Sakthivel, a cashew farmer from Melmampattu village near Panruti in Cuddalore district, as he dries the meagre number of cashew nuts collected from his farm.

With droplets of sweat dripping down his eyebrows, the 47-year-old farmer stares at his villain this season - the scorching sun.

"I usually harvest four to five sacks of cashews from one acre of land and the revenue the crop brings will be at least four times higher than my expenditure. But this year, the situation is different, blame it on the adverse weather conditions and the deficit monsoon in December, I was able to collect just a bag of cashews from an acre, affecting my income badly," says Sakthivel, adding he got just ₹8,500 as revenue after spending 10,000 for an acre.

The expenses, the dejected farmer says, include paying ₹400 to 600 a day for the farmhands for the labour-intensive work associated with farming like clearing weed, controlling pests, collecting fruits, drying and sorting based on size and texture and packing.