Tirupati: Tomato growers set to reap rich benefits

Tirupati: The farmers in the district, more so in the arid western part, are happy with unexpected demand for the tomatoes from other states including Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. Tomato is grown in more than 32 mandals of Madanapalli division in the western part and also in many mandals in Chittoor division, is the main crop for the farmers in the late Rabi season.

Despite production going up, farmers incurred heavy losses as they resorted to distress sale, while in many places they dumped their produce on the roadside or left it in the field itself without harvesting them with the cost of transport is more than what they get for their produce.

However, things have changed for better for the farmers with good demand for tomato from other states but they couldn't supply due to lockdown. Now that, government has made arrangements for the farmers to sell their produce to the traders in the agriculture market yards in various places in the district. Besides, it also facilitated transport of the goods by issuing permission to the private transports to ferry tomatoes purchased from the district farmers to other states.

Marketing assistant director Gopi said that a total about 1,500-2,000 tonnes of tomato is arriving daily to the market yards and the entire stock is purchased by the authorized traders in the market yards who are sending them mainly to Chennai and New Delhi to meet the demand for tomato which has increased manifold.

Madanapalli market yard receives a big load of tomatoes, followed by Kolakalacheruvu, Punganuru, Kuppam, V Kota, Palamaneru, Kalakada, Kalikiri and Piler. Horticulture deputy director Srinivasulu said that tomotao is taken up in about 15,000 acres this year in Chittoor district.

He said the farmers getting Rs 5-6 per kg for first quality and second quality about Rs 4 which cannot be said very good but certainly remunerative to the farmers. He said about 400 tonnes consumed in the district while remaining going outside the state.

A farmer from Kalikiri Srinivasulu Reddy said that though the price is not up to their expectation but the demand from other states is helping the farmers to recover their investment with a little margin of profit.