Farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district have been forced to plough their standing cauliflower crops with tractors after the price of cauliflower plunged to an alarming Rs 1 per kg in local markets, a situation that persisted for over a week. The dramatic footage of farmers destroying their crops has gone viral, drawing widespread attention to the mounting distress among farmers.

Amroha’s cauliflower farmers, who typically sell their produce to local markets that supply large ‘mandis’ in Delhi-NCR and Uttarakhand, have witnessed the collapse of prices. This year, cauliflower was sown on over 5,000 hectares of land, but a sudden oversupply has sent prices plummeting. While retail consumers are still purchasing cauliflower at Rs 10-15 per kg, the stark difference between retail and wholesale prices is attributed to the exploitation by middlemen.

"More than Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 are spent per bigha on growing cauliflower and cabbage. Initially, wholesale prices were stable at Rs 30-40 per kg in December and January, but as supply surged, prices crashed," explained Laal Singh Saini, a farmer from Amroha's Mohammadpur Patti. "Now, farmers are being forced to vacate their fields."

Farmers also cited the high transport costs involved in shipping the crops to Delhi, where cauliflower is sold at around Rs 300 per quintal. Despite the increasing production, the price continues to fall, leaving the farmers with no other option than to destroy their crops and face significant financial losses.