Farmers in Bali have said that fruit and vegetables are rotting due to low demand caused by the lack of tourism.
Local Farmer from Pancasari Village Tabanan, I Gusti Made Japa said on Monday Sept 29th 2020 that since the Covid-19 pandemic started 6 months ago, the demand for agricultural products like romaine, paprika, asparagus, tomato, beet root and zucchini from the hotels and villas in Bali has completely stopped.
“We have to sell them to the traditional market with a very cheap price and sometimes they are just rotting in storage when we cant sell them.” Japa said.
To minimize their losses, farmer have to sell their produce to local traditional markets and reduce their production capacity.
The Head of Bali Production, Department of Agriculture and Food Security, I Wayan Sunartha has said that this situation has been happening all over Indonesia.
“The demand from the market is still low, farmers need to survive this condition by minimizing their potential losses. We’re all in the same boat.” Sunartha said.
Sunartha suggested that farmers to diversify their production, to cover their losses from the products that aren’t sold. “I suggested the farmers to start planting sweet potatoes and taro because their price are quite stable” Sunartha concluded.
This is however good news for Bali locals and they can enjoy high quality produce with cheap prices.
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