Kolhapur Farmer Destroys 2 Acres of Banana Crop Using Rotavator After Prices Crash

Shirol, Kolhapur District:
In Bubnal village of Shirol taluka, several farmers had planted banana crops during the month of October. Among them, farmer Jagdish Kardage cultivated around 3,000 banana plants on 2 acres of land. However, due to the drastic fall in banana prices over the past two months, he decided to destroy his entire plantation by running a rotavator through the field.

Kardage had invested nearly ₹3 lakh in cultivation expenses for his banana crop. Usually, he earns a good income from banana farming every year. But this time, with the market price falling to just ₹3–₹4 per kg, he couldn’t even recover a fraction of his investment.

He explained that even harvesting labor costs have become unaffordable — laborers charge around ₹500 per person to cut bananas, which exceeds the value of the produce itself. Traders are also offering very low prices, leaving no viable option for the farmers.

Out of frustration and financial pressure, Kardage plowed his entire 2-acre banana field, symbolizing the severe crisis faced by banana growers in the Kolhapur region this season.