Amid skyrocketing prices of tomatoes, a farmer from Maharashtra installed a CCTV camera on his farm to keep an eye on his plantation of the kitchen staple.
The red berries are being sold between Indian rupee 100 and 200 across the country.
The grower said he embraced digital surveillance for his farm at Shahpur Banjar, about 20 km from Aurangabad after tomato thieves struck there.
Sharad Rawte told PTI that he cannot afford to lose more tomatoes, the most in-demand vegetable today. He said a crate of 22-25 kg of tomatoes is now being sold for Indian Rupee 3,000.
mR Rawte said his farm is spread across 5 acres and he has grown tomatoes on 1.5 acres, which could easily fetch him Indian Rupee 6-7 lakh.
“Around 10 days ago, 20-25 kilos of tomatoes were stolen from my farm in Gangapur taluka. To protect the remaining crop that is yet to ripen, I’ve installed a CCTV camera worth Indian Rupee 22,000,” he said.
The farmer said the camera runs on solar energy so he doesn’t have to worry about its power supply. “I can also check the visuals anywhere on my phone,” he said.
In July, a man stole the boxes of 75-kilogram tomatoes belonging to a farmer from a vegetable market whose video went viral on social media.
A video went viral on social media which showed a man on a motorcycle stealing boxes of 75 kg tomatoes from a vegetable market in Zaheerabad city of India’s Sangareddy city.
According to the Indian media reports, a farmer carried boxes of 75 kg tomatoes to the vegetable which were stolen by a motorcyclist when the farmer went away somewhere.
CCTV camera captured the moment a thief took away three boxes of tomatoes on his motorcycle.
Police faced difficulties to identify the thief as he was wearing a helmet during the theft. However, police lodged a case against the tomato theft over the complaint of the farmer.
In India, the price of tomatoes soared to the Indian rupee 150 per kilogram.
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