Chittoor: Commissioner assures remunerative price for mango farmers

Pulicherla (Chittoor district): In an efforts to ensure remunerative price to horticulture crop mangoes which is grown in an extent of 1.1 lakh hectare in Chittoor district, AP Horticulture Commissioner S S Sridhar on Thursday held a meeting with the mango farmers at Kothakota in Pulicherla mandal where a major mango market also located.

The Commissioner along with Collector M Harinayanan also visited the pulp industry run by the Mango Farmers' Association for the benefit of mango producing farmers after a field visit of inspecting mango gardens and interaction with farmers. Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner Sridhar reiterated that the government was keen on ensuring remunerative price to mango farmers in district and added that, if required, the government would get the traders from outside the state for purchase of mangoes produced in the district to see the farmers get a fair deal in the sale of their produce.

In this connection, he said the collector had already held a meeting with mango farmers, pulp industries representatives and traders on providing remunerative price to mangoes and a report also sent to government on mango crop yield this year. In Chittoor district, the mango variety is mostly useful for pulp production, he said adding that efforts were on to see the pulp industries offer remunerative price to mango farmers producing about 5.5 lakh metric tonne pulp variety mangoes.

Stating that he was also meeting the representatives of pulp industries on their issues including procurement of mangoes, he said a report will be submitted to the government after meeting all the stakeholders of mango procurement in Chittoor district.