Colombia: Potato producers in the municipality of Murillo (Tolima) are facing an economic crisis

Potato producers in the municipality of Murillo, Tolima are experiencing an economic crisis due to the low prices they are receiving for a sack of this product at collection centers.

According to Hernando Restrepo, a producer from this area of ​​Tolima, the situation has led them to go out onto the roads of some municipalities to sell potatoes directly by the sack or pound.

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“The very low prices forced us to take to the streets; we have to go out, and that’s why we ask the public to help us. What we want is to sell the harvest,” Restrepo said.

He also mentioned that "Until recently we sold a sack of potatoes for $90,000 and now they only pay us $30,000, that doesn’t make any profit for those of us who are in the countryside producing food."

He also mentioned that the price situation has been affected by potato imports, which puts them at a disadvantage in competing in the national market.

“Producing a load of potatoes costs approximately one million pesos, between planting and harvesting, that is why we ask the National Government to control the prices of inputs and to help us with prices in the market,” highlighted the producer from the municipality of Murillo.

Finally, he stated that more than a thousand people in the municipality of Murillo depend on potato farming for their livelihood. These are families who have dedicated their lives to agricultural production in this part of the department.