Chittoor District Collector Siddarth Jain on Thursday said that as part of finding a permanent solution to difficulties facing tomato growers in the district, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had announced Rs. 10 crore for undertaking awareness campaigns and research. He was inaugurating a workshop on use of technology in tomato production at CLRC Bhavan at Madanapalle. An awareness camp was also held for farmers on management methods post-harvesting and marketing on the occasion.
Mr. Jain said a research team of horticulture wing officials had been formed, and that it had already undertaken extensive study of tomato crop patterns and marketing modules in Southern states. “The team should focus on the quality of seed. They should also observe the changing patterns in tomato crop, management of soil, technologies involved, fertilisers and prevention of diseases. This will trigger a tremendous demand for the produce in global markets,” he added.
Later, the Collector distributed subsidies to the Madanapalle Horticulture society for construction of a pack house and released a booklet on tomato farming.
T. Hatya Singh and Girija Ganeshan, senior scientists from the National Horticulture Research Institute, explained various technologies applied in horticulture.
Officials of the Horticulture Department and representatives of food processing industries attended the workshop.
