Tenkasi farmers earn extra cash as tourists flock to sunflower fields – The New Indian Express

Express press service

TENKASI: Sunflower growers in the villages of Sundarapandiapuram and Sambavar Vadakarai are receiving a much higher influx of tourists from Kerala than in previous years. The roads leading to the villages face traffic jams as many tourists park their vehicles on the side of the road to take selfies and photos as they enter the fields.

“On Sunday alone, about 1,500 people from Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram visited the field,” said one farmer. In order to keep the flowers in good condition, the farmers collect Rs 20 to Rs 50 from each tourist and have placed a cardboard sheet with a warning that a fine of Rs 200 will be charged for property damage.

Speaking to TNIE, Velladurai, a sunflower farmer from Sundarapandiapuram, said allowing tourists to enter the fields was damaging the crops. “Tourists mostly visit our fields on weekends. In total, we receive around Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 per day from tourists.

Some of them pick the flowers without our knowledge,” he said. Additionally, farmers were seen selling their produce, especially vegetables, directly to visitors. An agriculture official, on request of anonymity, said the state government may start “agricultural tourism” in the Shengottai block and offer boat rides in Kambali and Sambavarvadakarai reservoirs to generate revenue from tourists. Rathish, a software engineer from Thiruvananthapuram, said most people in Kerala have heard of the sunflower fields through newspapers and YouTube channels.

TENKASI: Sunflower growers in the villages of Sundarapandiapuram and Sambavar Vadakarai are receiving a much higher influx of tourists from Kerala than in previous years. The roads leading to the villages face traffic jams as many tourists park their vehicles on the side of the road to take selfies and photos as they enter the fields. “On Sunday alone, about 1,500 people from Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram visited the field,” said one farmer. In order to keep the flowers in good condition, the farmers collect Rs 20 to Rs 50 from each tourist and have placed a cardboard sheet with a warning that a fine of Rs 200 will be charged for property damage. Speaking to TNIE, Velladurai, a sunflower farmer from Sundarapandiapuram, said allowing tourists to enter the fields was damaging the crops. “Tourists mostly visit our fields on weekends. In total, we receive around Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 per day from tourists. Some of them pick the flowers without our knowledge,” he said. Additionally, farmers were seen selling their produce, especially vegetables, directly to visitors. An agriculture official, on request of anonymity, said the state government could start “agricultural tourism” in the Shengottai block and offer boat rides in Kambali and Sambavarvadakarai reservoirs to generate revenue from tourists. Rathish, a software engineer from Thiruvananthapuram, said most people in Kerala have heard of the sunflower fields through newspapers and YouTube channels.