Horticulture farmers seek govt handholding

Anantapur : Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu during his tenure in 2014-19 recognised the rich potential of the district for its horticulture plantations and often talked about developing it as a horticulture hub. But not much headway had been made in creating infrastructure facilities including marketing of produce, storage facilities and common facility centre to bring all horticulture farmers on a single platform.

During 2019-24, horticulture farmers’ condition became miserable with the then YSRCP government totally diverting all its energies on welfare. Since 2014-24, a decade had been lost, but there is no change in farmers’ lives, except much deteriorated.

The gross value of the fruits exported annually from the district was Rs 6,200 crore during 2019-24, while investment on the plantations was Rs 400 crore.

Bananas, pomegranates, custard apples, grapes, guava, figs (anjur), mangoes, musk melon, watermelon, honey melon, papaya, sweet limes, lose jackets, goose berries, straw berries and black berries etc are among the fruits grown here, with a production of 40 lakh tonnes annually. These fruits are the pride of the district. Pomegranates raised here are highly esteemed in countries abroad and have great export value. Bananas are grown in Tadipatri, Yellanuru, Putluru, Battalapalle and in other places and their market is New Delhi. Farmers market their produce in Delhi as they have a tie-up with Delhi traders. Pomegranates are raised in Kanekal, Bommanahal, Kalyandurg, Yellanur, Putluru, Rayadurg, Tadipatri and Kuderu. Custard apples are grown in Rayadurg, Madakasira, Kambadur and Kalyandurg, while guava is cultivated in Tadipatri, Pamidi, Puttalur, Bukkapatnam and Dharmavaram. Fig (anjur), which is an Israel fruit, is cultivated in Kanekal, Bommanahal, Kalyandurg and Rayanadurgam and Garladinne mandals.

‘Horticulture produce is a multi-million crore business and the government should seriously consider on boosting exports from the district and do everything possible to give value addition to the produce by developing infra-facilities,’ feels several educated farmers, who spoke to The Hans India. 90 per cent subsidy on drip irrigation should be revived and Horticulture department should become vibrant and the district should be the most happening place, suggests pomegranate farmer Rama Rao from Garladinne mandal. The government should give handholding to Horticulture farmers to create confidence in them, he added.