Grant subsidy for mango on lines of Andhra Pradesh: Farmers

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had announced Rs 2,500 per tonne subsidy over and above the price offered by juice units after the Chittoor district farmers started dumping their produce on the road demanding that mango arrivals from Tamil Nadu be stopped as the copious downpour last year had resulted bumper yield on both sides of the border. 

Chittoor Mango Merchants’ Association sources said that mango prices, which were hovering from Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg last year, have plummeted to below Rs 5 per kg this year, following sufficient rain last year. 

“We have around 100 odd mango juice units in Chittoor district whose total intake is around 1.10 lakh tonne, whereas we have another 30,000 tonne of produce which don’t have a ready market. Hence, the farmers from Andhra Pradesh are agitating,” an official revealed. 

Chittoor Collector PS Pratyumna had implemented a ban on the entry of mango-laden lorries from Tamil Nadu a couple of days ago. Lorries were being turned away at Paradarami check post, as a result of which, the irked Vellore district farmers started agitating. They dumped their loads on the Paradarami road. 

When the cops intervened to pacify the agitated farmers, they demanded that the Tamil Nadu ministers or officials must hold talks with their counterparts in AP, failing which they threatened to stop lorries transporting milk and tomato from entering the state from AP. 

“We are unable to transport mangoes to Maharashtra due to the ban and hence, mangoes bound for that state are also languishing on the road,” said Kesavan, an agitated farmer from Gudiyattam. Thereafter, Revenue Minister of the State RB Udayakumar spoke to his counterpart from AP, following which, Chittoor Collector held a meeting with the representatives of the mango merchants and farmers association from both sides of the border along with Tamil Nadu’s agriculture and horticulture officials.

Subsequently, the ban was lifted from Monday afternoon. AP’s condition was that the produce could only be supplied to the open market and not to the juice factories. 

The farmers from Gudiyattam now demand a subsidy similar to that announced by the Andhra Chief Minister, to press for which they dumped their loads on the road. 

“Nearly 20,000 tonne of mangoes are yet to be harvested. If the process is not done, we will suffer a huge loss. To offset this, we are demanding the subsidy,” said NR Asokan, a farmer from Gudiyattam. It is to be seen whether the Tamil Nadu government will make an announcement on the lines of Andhra Pradesh government and redress the grievance of Gudiyattam farmers.