In a first, the State government on Monday announced support price of ₹2,500 per tonne to help mango growers for the steep fall in prices.
The announcement by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy came in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. Since neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, has banned inter-State movement, farmers are in distress, he said, adding that his attempts to speak to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had failed since he was travelling abroad. Mr. Kumaraswamy also said he had spoken to a private entity in Maharashtra, but they expressed inability to take fresh mangoes for processing since they already had stocks to sell.
Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankara Reddy said the support price of ₹2.5 per kg is expected to cost the State between ₹15 crore to ₹20 crore.
Speaker’s constituency
Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar suggested that MSP payment should be made through APMC, to curb illegal payments. Mr. Kumar, who represents Srinivaspura constituency where maximum distress among mango farmers have been reported, told The Hindu : “Thotapuri variety goes to processing units that manufacture juice. The support price makes things sustainable for farmers, if not comfortable.”
He said about 25% of the crop was yet to be harvested, and it would be completed in the next 10 days.
