The Agricultural Marketing department of Kurnool on Saturday purchased eight tonnes of tomatoes from farmers who are struggling due to a steep fall in prices of produce over the past four days at the Pathikonda market yard.
The government intervened after the price of a kilo of tomato fell to as low as ₹1 in the market yard, compelling some farmers to dump their produce on the roads. The prices started to plummet since December 10. Majority of farmers in Pathikonda constituency cultivate tomatoes and bring their produce to the Pathikonda market yard.
According to officials, owing to the recent rains and being the last plucking of the season, the quality of the vegetable considerably deteriorated, leading to a crash in prices.
Pathikonda market yard secretary Karnalise told The Hindu that 42 tonnes of tomato have arrived at the market on Saturday, and the prices stood at a minimum of ₹10-₹20 based on the quality of the produce. “We have purchased eight tonnes of the produce on Saturday alone and purchased over 40 tonnes from farmers since December 10 in view of the falling prices,’’ he said.
The Marketing department is sending the tomato purchased from Pathikonda farmers to other markets in Machilipatnam in Krishna, Guntur, and AA Nagar, Kothapet, and C Camp in Kurnool.
The Marketing officials claim that the traders are purchasing at a lower price as the quality of the tomatoes was very low in some cases. However, following the reports of farmers throwing away their produce, Joint Collector B. Navya has asked officials to ensure that the traders purchase the produce at not less than ₹4 per kilo from the farmers.
Published – December 14, 2024 07:51 pm IST
