VIJAYAWADA: Every effort is being made to ensure farmers get remunerative prices for their produce and in that direction 25 food processing units with an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore will be established across the state in the ensuing months, said Special Chief Commission (Agriculture and allied sectors) Poonam Malakondaiah.Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada on Saturday, she said for the first time, to ensure effective marketing for the mango growers in the state, 27 Kisan Rails were operated from the state only for transporting mangoes to other states. A total 16,000 metric tonnes of mangoes were exported to different states, that too during Covid second wave, she added.
Describing AP as the fruit basket of India, Poonam Malakondiaiah said the state is producing 321 lakh metric tonnes of different kinds of fruits in an area of 17.84 lakh hectares. However, the good production has possessed a challenge for marketing the harvested produce during the second wave of Covid. “But, we have met the challenge head on and ensured that horticulture farmers in the state are not subjected to any losses,” she said. It was made possible with coordinated efforts of the officials and 256 FPOs of horticulture in the state, she added.
The entire mango yield in the state is 46 lakh MT, of which 70 per cent of the harvesting has been done already and special focus has been laid on mango processing by creating awareness among the farmers right from village level through RBKs. We coordinated with 25 FPOs involved with mangoes and held meetings with traders, exports and pulp factory owners to ensure farmers are not cheated out of remunerative prices. Focus is now on Chittoor, where the bulk of the remaining mangoes have to be harvested and also on Ulavapadu in Prakasam district,” she said
She explained how the department has been supporting through capacity building, technical guidance to agriculture and horticulture assistants who in turn are helping farmers and ensuring that crop cultivation and harvest are accurately recorded through e-crop and RBKs. “Fruits are marketed through three methods — domestic consumption, through supply chain (for other markets in the country and abroad) and processing. This time, we had asked the farmers to take the produce directly to the company instead of taking it through markets,” she said.
Mango trade
27 Kisan Rails operated from state only for transporting mangoes to other states
16,000 metric tonnes of mangoes were exported to different states during second wave
321 lakh metric tonnes of different kinds of fruits produced in AP in an area of 17.84 lakh hectares
Foundation stone for the construction of 2,000 warehouses will be laid on July 8. Each will be of the capacity of a minimum 500 MT and cold storages for storing perishable commodities too will be constructed at the earliest