Haveri: The pandemic and its impact on the economy had compelled the state government to reduce its revenue forecast for what is considered the largest chilli market in Asia: byadagi in Haveri district. Although the state government had set a revenue target of Rs 9.5 crore from the market for the 2021-22 fiscal year, the market has already registered a turnover of Rs 11.2 crore, having far outstripped the conservative estimate of the state government. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is the fact that the market has, for the past four years in a row, managed to leave the government’s estimates behind, and consistently achieve sales and register revenue that belies the current parlous state of the economy. In 2020-21, when the state government had forecast that the Byadagi market would register revenue to the tune of Rs 15 crore, the sales touched a sum of Rs 18 crore. The stakeholders attributed the impressive sales to the reduction in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) cess.
The spike in the price of Byadagi Chilli, with one quintal of the crop selling for a record Rs 70,000, ensured that the many farmers in North Karnataka continued cultivating it. The sale of Byadagi Chilli helped increase revenue of the market this year, with the crop registering sales higher than what it had registered in the previous fiscal year.
Byadagi chilli market secretary Adappa expressed his delight with the impressive profits that many farmers from across North Karnataka registered this year. “Farmers are trooping into the market from neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states, not to mention some parts of Maharashtra too. They could have reaped a bumper harvest, but the heavy showers and flood reduced the yield,” he rued.
A trader at the market, however, stressed the need to improve the condition of the road connecting the market to Byadagi town. “The project to widen the road has been hanging fire for the past few years. The state government must allocate the necessary funds to improve infrastructure around the market,” he said.
The spike in the price of Byadagi Chilli, with one quintal of the crop selling for a record Rs 70,000, ensured that the many farmers in North Karnataka continued cultivating it. The sale of Byadagi Chilli helped increase revenue of the market this year, with the crop registering sales higher than what it had registered in the previous fiscal year.
Byadagi chilli market secretary Adappa expressed his delight with the impressive profits that many farmers from across North Karnataka registered this year. “Farmers are trooping into the market from neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states, not to mention some parts of Maharashtra too. They could have reaped a bumper harvest, but the heavy showers and flood reduced the yield,” he rued.
A trader at the market, however, stressed the need to improve the condition of the road connecting the market to Byadagi town. “The project to widen the road has been hanging fire for the past few years. The state government must allocate the necessary funds to improve infrastructure around the market,” he said.