BENGALURU: Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, seeking the Centre’s intervention in helping Karnataka’s mango cultivators, who have suffered a double-whammy of unpredictable prices and bad weather.
Karnataka is a major contributor to mango production globally, Gowda pointed out, requesting the Centre to initiate a Price Deficiency Payment and Market Intervention Scheme for immediate fruit procurement in Karnataka through NAFED and NCCF, which will support farmers and alleviate rural distress.
“Further, mango is one of the major horticultural crops of Karnataka, cultivated over an area of 1.39 lakh hectares, particularly in Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, and Ramanagara districts, with an estimated output of 8-10 lakh tonnes during the rabi season. However, due to inclement weather and diseases, the mango yield has dropped to less than 30 per cent this year, according to farmers,” Gowda wrote.
“Prices fell from Rs 12,000 per quintal to Rs 2,000, while the cost of cultivation was Rs 5,466 a quintal. This has financially stressed the farmers, with many small and marginal mango growers unable to cover even basic costs,” he elaborated.
He said Andhra Pradesh’s ban on Totapuri mangoes from entering Chittoor district, which borders Karnataka, has disrupted the supply chain, risking post-harvest losses for the state’s border mango growers, noting: “This has created tension among the mango growers leading to protests in many districts, especially Kolar and Chikkaballpura.”
Gowda also mentioned that the Karnataka Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have asked the AP government to revoke the ban immediately.