Kothagudem farmer takes to social media to sell watermelons

With buyers shying away from purchasing ready-to-harvest watermelon, a farmer in the district has taken to social media to sell the produce.

Kothagudem: With buyers shying away from purchasing ready-to-harvest watermelon, a farmer in the district has taken to social media to sell the produce.

The farmer, Guguloth Rambabu of Padamatinarsapuram in Julurpad mandal in the district, had grown watermelon as an intercrop with papaya in five acres of land. The crop reached the harvest stage in the first week of September and he started looking for buyers from Hyderabad.

At first the buyers agreed to purchase the produce and later due to rains in Hyderabad, they delayed the purchase. Now they are avoiding the purchase stating weather conditions and rains in the district as the reasons. As a means to find a market for his produce, Rambabu shot a video and posted it on social media, including in WhatsApp groups and others in the district. He appealed to the public to visit his farm at the village on the Kothagudem-Khammam main road to buy the fruit while saying that he would sell the fruit at the price quoted by the individuals.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Rambabu said he was looking for buyers since September 2. The quality of the fruit was good but buyers were trying to purchase it at a throwaway price claiming that rains could have affected the quality.

The farmer said the watermelon variety he grew was called ‘Bahubali’ with each weighing around five to eight kilograms. Around 50 to 60 tons of produce was ready for harvest and instead of selling it to fruit dealers, he wanted to sell it directly to the public or local fruit vendors, he said.

Rambabu said he could be contacted at his mobile number: 9701858180, if anyone was interested to buy the fruits and help him. Since the fruit is perishable and has low shelf life, he wanted to dispose of the produce at the earliest, he added.