Horticulture farmers seekinfra facilities in Anantapur

Anantapur: When TDP was in power during 2014-19, the then Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu visited the district more than 20 times and promised to develop the district as a horticulture hub but he did not do anything.

It remained an empty slogan. After the YSRCP came to power, development was not their priority. All its resources were divested to just welfare.

The district in particular, Rayalaseema in general, is basically agrarian. Anantapur is predominantly groundnut crop followed by horticulture with second largest acreage after groundnut.

Cold storages and food processing units and export zones would have done wonders and transformed the region into a wealthy and prosperous one but the irony is politics and economic prosperity of people was not in their agenda.

The undivided Anantapur district which emerged as a ‘Fruit Basin’ with more than 20 varieties of fruits growing here, has no infrastructure facilities like cold storages, warehouses and processing plants. Packaging houses, ripening chambers and a host of amenities are required for marketing the 20 varieties of fruits.

An estimated 2 lakh acres are under horticulture cultivation in the district and 60,000 acres under vegetable cultivation. Horticulture Assistant Director Chandrasekhar of Penukonda division told The Hans India that the district has emerged as a ‘fruit bowl of AP’ and most the fruits available locally are grown here.

The fruits include bananas, pomegranates, custard apples, grapes, guava, figs(anjuram), mangoes, musk melon, watermelon, honey melon, papayya, sweet limes, lose jackets, goose berries, straw berries and black berries are among the fruits grown here.

The gross value of the fruits exported from the district is Rs 1,000 crore every year. While investment on the plantations is Rs 400 crore, the production is at 40 lakh tonnes. These fruits are the pride of the district.

The 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, Kalyandurgam, Yellanur, Putluru, Rayadurgam, Tadipatri and Kuderu.

Custard Apples are grown in Rayadurgam, Madakasira, Kambadur and Kalyandurgam. Guava plantations are grown in Tadipatri, Pamidi, Puttalur, Bukkapatnam and Dharmavaram.

Fig (anjuram) which is an Israeli fruit, is cultivated in Kanekal, Bommanahal, Kalyandurgam and Rayanadurgam and Garladinne mandals. Mango plantations are spread across Kadiri, Mudigubba, Garladinne, Tadipatri, Yadiki and Vajrakarur mandals. Watermelons, Muskmelons and Honeymelons are raised in Raptadu, Garladinne, Kalyandurgam and Pamidi mandals.

Papayyas and sweetlime are grown in most of the mandals including Yellanur, Potluru, Tadipatri, Uravakonda, Dharmavaram and Kuduru while grapes are cultivated in Uravakonda, Kuderu, Garladinne and several other mandals.

Most of the fruits are exported to Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and even to countries abroad the USA, Middle East and to Western countries.

Farmers Obulappa and Kulayappa of Kanekal, who are raising pomegranate and muskmelons, says that cold storages and processing centres should be set up in Rayadurgam mandal and in other parts of the district. Government departments should be instrumental in creating facilities required for exports.