AP tops in tomato cultivation

Tirupati: India is the second largest producer of Tomato in the world and in the country, Andhra Pradesh is the lead cultivator of tomato, said  Minister for Agriculture Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy. He addressed the farmers at a workshop on “Farmers Produce Organisations (FPOs) and their role in Tomato Value Chain Interventions.” The workshop was held  at SP Mahila Visvavidyalayam in Tirupati on Tuesday. 

To benefit the farmers in marketing and other aspects, the workshop was being held which will bring together the experience and knowledge of different stakeholders like Government, NGOs, Research and Academic institutions, retail chain companies and processing industries working in different aspects of FPOs and Tomato value chain to learn from each other, he said. 

Tomatoes were  cultivated in 62,084 hectares in the state which yielded 57,072 metric tonnes of tomatoes thereby occupied first place in the country Central government has approved 12 clusters in the country out of which AP got one which will be set up at Madanapalle with Rs.50 crores. The land allotment for that was also completed, he revealed.