The farmers in the Madanapalle division are again at the receiving end due to the glut in tomato production and the stoppage of the purchase of produce by the traders from outside including from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu compounded the problems of the Chittoor farmers.
The farmers who were able to get Rs 40-50 per kg till January last week, are now crestfallen as the price plummeted to just Rs 3-4 per kg now. For various reasons, the tomato price has suddenly gone down steeply badly hitting the farmers in the division. Foremost factors among various reasons that caused severe loss to Chittoor district farmers was that farmers from other areas including Anantapur in the State and the Mulabagal and Chintamani districts in Karnataka which are known as tomato belts invading the local market and supplying their produce in Chittoor district.
Thus, it was a double whammy for the Madanapalle farmers who are the tradition tomato growers with others making inroads into the local market even as the outside traders stopped purchasing the produce from them. Another significant reason for rates of tomato coming down to the lowest level was the increase in the crop area in the district.
Read more…at The Hans India
