Farmer's family in Wayanad placed in home quarantine, unable to harvest, seeks govt help
May 18, 2020
Wayanad (Kerala) [India], May 18 : A family of farmers is unable to harvest more than one tonne of vegetables that it cultivated, as they have been placed in home quarantine after coming in contact with a COVID-19 positive person.
Paili and his family residing in Edavaka Panchayat, which is now a containment zone, depend on farming and were hoping to sell their harvest to tide over the financial crisis that they are undergoing during the lockdown.
"My husband helped a man by offering him tapioca from our vegetable farm. When the man came to the farm to take the tapioca my husband came in contact with him. Later, the man tested COVID-19 positive and my husband has been placed under home quarantine," said Paili's wife.
Wayanad district has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases with the total reaching 17. The district authorities have asked 2445 people to go in quarantine.
Though the family hardly has any money, they have taken five acre land on lease for farming which they have been doing for the last 20 years.
"We are unable to harvest our crops as my husband is in quarantine for 14 days. Others are also not willing to come to the plot. If we do not harvest, all those vegetables we cultivated will rot," she said.
The family says that the yields go up to one and a half quintals per day and the vegetables include 500 odd tapioca, two acres of beans, cowpea, brinjal and also a banana plantation.
"The monsoon season is coming and we cannot carry out any harvesting during that period. If we don't get some sort of government support all our hard work for a year will go in vain," said the family.
