Tomato farmers in Anantapur district held a protest on Friday demanding that their produce be bought at a higher price by traders and that the government intervene to ensure the same.
Bad harvest
Trouble began when traders at the Anantapur vegetable market refused to buy tomatoes at any price over Re.1 arguing that the price of tomatoes had drastically fallen down across the State and in the neighbouring Karnataka, making it unfeasible for them to buy it at a rate more than Rs. 1.
Tomato farmers from the district, covering an acreage of over 8,000 hectares, spread in the central part of the district around Anantapur town and in Singanamala, Garladinne, Pamidi and Kalyanadurgam mandals and in 3,500 hectares in the Kadiri division covering Kadiri, Tanakallu, N.P Kunta, and Mudigubba mandals had a bad harvest on account of severe drought conditions.
Speaking to The Hindu , Assistant Director of Horticulture Ramana said surplus crop in the surrounding districts of Chittoor and in Karnataka was one of the main reasons for the sudden dip in the prices of tomato.
‘Traders syndicate’
He, however, did not rule out the possibility of traders forming a syndicate to control the prices.
Another official who did not want to be quoted said traders at Anantapur wanted to implement prices prevalent in the Madanapalle tomato market on a day to day and inter day basis whenever it was profitable for them.
This is not correct and the district administration is well within its rights to regulate the tomato market at Anantapur to protect the interests of growers here,” he said.
For free supply
Meanwhile, it was learnt that several tomato farmers from Kadiri have unloaded their produce at Madanapalle and other tomato trading houses in Kadiri for free as the price being offered by traders was not even enough to cover the charge to transport the produce.
Surplus yield in Chittoor district and Karnataka attributed to
price dip
