For Sharanappa Jaggal of Kotumachagi village in Karnataka’s Gadag district the year 2023 started off on a bright note. Last weekend this farmer got a record price of Rs.70,199 per quintal for the Kashmiri chillies which he had so tenderly grown.
Apart from the record price of the chilli, Jaggal also got instant fame for the organic method of growing them as he nurtures them with cow dung.
These chillies which are usually sold between Rs.35,000 to 50,000 per quintal are long, thick and have a high content of oil and these attributes fetch it a handsome price in the market. As it used to make chilli powder, agents from all over, including Hubballi, Haveri and Gadag, flock to buy this variety. The demand for this variety is also very high in other States also.
Chillies grown by Sharanappa were purchased at the Gadag Agriculture Produce Market Committee market by Ashok Gadad, a shop owner. Interestingly, last week, he had sold five quintals of this same variety at Hubballi APMC for Rs.59,000 per quintal. It was at this place that Gadad saw these chillies and offered to buy this variety from him and so Sharanappa had the remaining part of his stock transported to Gadag.
As per Gadad the incessant rain last year had destroyed chilli crop and because of this the prices have shot up,
Talking to the media, Jaggal said he will use the money received to educate his three children. He called it a New Year gift for his family.
