TN farmers’ body urges state to intervene in mango procurement crisis

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association, affiliated with AITUC, seeks Chief Minister MK Stalin’s intervention to protect mango cultivators, who are distressed over the lack of a regulated price mechanism despite a bumper harvest this season.

In a joint statement, association president S Gunasekaran and general secretary PS Masilamani said that cultivators are being forced to let ripe mangoes rot on the trees as buyers offer unviable low rates — as little as Rs 3 to Rs 4 per kg — against a previous procurement rate of Rs 25, leaving farmers in despair.

They highlighted that Tamil Nadu stands sixth in mango production among Indian states, with an annual output of three lakhs metric tonnes. Although farmers had earlier suffered due to poor yields caused by the widespread use of a chemical, a better yield this year has ironically left them at the mercy of private pulp units and traders, with no government-run processing units in place.

The association demanded immediate district-level tripartite talks involving farmers, traders, pulp unit owners, and government officials to fix fair procurement prices.

The association also urged the state government to set up pulp factories and cold storage units in major mango-growing regions and, additionally, provide compensation to affected farmers.