Karnataka protests ‘ban' on its Totapuri mangoes entering AP, Naidu govt says ‘rescue your own farmers'
The Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu trijunction—Chittoor, Kolar and Krishnagiri districts, close to Bengaluru—is a famous belt for cultivation of Totapuri mangoes, known for its sweet-tangy pulp and widely exported and used domestically in packaged fruit juices, jams and other products.
In response, Andhra Pradesh has urged Karnataka to rush to the rescue of its mango farmers, instead of faulting AP for financially aiding and safeguarding the interests of its local farmers.
Hyderabad: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has invoked cooperative federalism to ask his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N. Chandrababu Naidu, to lift a ban on the entry of Totapuri mangoes from Karnataka into Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.
Naidu's assembly constituency, Kuppam, lies in this belt, and with many farmers into Totapuri cultivation, it is an electoral issue for him as an MLA too.
A large number of pulp extraction and processing units are located in AP's Chittoor, making it a hub for Totapuri farmers from the two neighbouring states who take large volumes of produce there for hassle-free sale every year.
This season is different, Andhra Pradesh officials say, because of a bumper Totapuri harvest.
In his letter to Naidu, dated Wednesday, Siddaramaiah expressed 'deep concern over an order reportedly issued by the Chittoor Collector 7 June, imposing a ban on the entry of Totapuri mangoes from other states into the district'.
The Karnataka CM called it an 'abrupt and unilateral move causing considerable hardship to mango growers in Karnataka', particularly those in the border regions cultivating Totapuri in substantial quantities.
'These farmers have long relied on the robust linkages with Chittoor-based processing and pulp extraction units for marketing their produce. The current restriction has disrupted this well-established supply chain and threatens significant post-harvest losses, directly impacting the livelihoods of thousands of farmers,' said Siddaramaiah.
The Karnataka CM went on to invoke the 'cooperative federalism spirit', while cautioning Andhra Pradesh against 'avoidable tension and retaliatory measures.'
'Actions of this nature, taken without prior consultation or coordination, run contrary to the spirit of cooperative federalism. I am also concerned that this may lead to avoidable tension and retaliatory measures, with stakeholders already expressing discontent that could potentially disrupt the inter-State movement of vegetables and other agricultural commodities.'
The region is also famous for vegetable cultivation, especially tomatoes.
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'We are safeguarding our farmers, Karnataka should aid theirs'
Siddaramaiah wrote the letter amid heat from Totapuri cultivators.
On Wednesday, mango farmers in Srinivaspur, a major Totapuri hub in Karnataka's Kolar district, abutting Chittoor, staged protests and observed a taluk bandh, demanding a support price for mangoes and withdrawal of the ban imposed by Andhra Pradesh.
Urging Naidu to treat the issue with the seriousness it warrants, Siddaramaiah asked him to take swift steps 'to restore the seamless movement of agricultural produce in the interest of farmer welfare.'
Earlier, Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh wrote a similarly worded letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand.
Vijayanand did not respond to ThePrint's messages or calls. This report will be updated if and when he responds.
However, a highly placed source in the Andhra Pradesh CMO told ThePrint that Andhra Pradesh is only safeguarding the interests of its farmers with higher supplies and low remuneration for Totapuri this year.
Every year, the Andhra Pradesh government announces a fair price for Totapuri mangoes at which the processors i.e., private sector players, have to purchase from local farmers. The price set this year was Rs 8 per kg, he said.
However, given the low price and higher supplies, the Naidu administration agreed to supplement the price by Rs 4 per kg, taking the farmers' realisation to a reasonable Rs 12 per kg.
The source added that Andhra Pradesh would be spending Rs 220 crore on this price augmentation, with an estimated procurement of 5.5 lakh tonnes of Totapuris locally this year.
'On the other side, Karnataka has apparently done nothing to aid its farmers, which is why their farmers are willing to sell their produce to Chittoor processors at even Rs 5 per kg. If the AP government allows Karnataka mangoes to come in, processors would obviously prefer to buy that produce and AP farmers would suffer despite our moving in time to aid them financially,' said the source.
'It will become a major crisis for mango farmers, with the potential to become a major law and order issue for us too,' the source added, pointing to the Karnataka chief minister's references to 'avoidable tension and retaliatory measures, disrupting the inter-state movement of vegetables and other agricultural commodities'.
'We did what is best for our farmers and Karnataka should follow suit, to ensure minimum viability for their farmers instead of dropping terms like cooperative federalism.'
Both CM Siddaramaiah and CS Rajneesh said that multidisciplinary enforcement teams comprising revenue, police, forest and marketing department officials have been deployed at inter-state check-posts adjoining Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to implement the Chittoor collector's directive.
Chittoor collector Sumit Kumar told ThePrint there was no formal ban imposed on the inward movement of Totapuris.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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