Totapuri Mango Crisis Turns Political; TD and YSRC Trade Charges

Tirupati: The distress among farmers over a huge price plunge for Totapuri mangoes, in the erstwhile Chittoor district, has taken a political turn. The ruling Telugu Desam and the opposition YSR Congress (YSRC) are blaming each other for the major farm-sector crisis.

Totapuri mangoes are a major agricultural crop in Andhra Pradesh. This variety is cultivated across 3.98 lakh hectares with an estimated output of 49.85 lakh metric tonnes a season. In the combined Chittoor district-now split into Chittoor, Tirupati and Annamayya, around 80,000 hectares are under mango cultivation, involving nearly 76,700 farmers. Tirupati district alone accounts for 14,582 hectares, with an expected yield of 1.45 lakh MT.

Amid growing concern over declining prices, the state government announced a procurement subsidy of Rs 4 per kg on June 6, fixing the overall price at Rs 12 per kg (Rs 8 from traders and Rs 4 from the government). A proposal for release of Rs 130 crore was also submitted to the Centre under the Market Intervention Scheme.

The procurement began on June 9. By July 5, over 2.9 lakh MT had been collected across Chittoor and Tirupati districts from nearly 49,000 farmers.

Yet, the issue of low prices gained momentum after YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a visit to the Bangarupalem market yard in Chittoor to interact with distressed farmers. While the government permitted the visit, it restricted the gathering to 500 people at the market and limited his supporters’ access to the helipad to 30 persons at a time, citing logistical constraints.

Ahead of the visit, revenue minister Anagani Satya Prasad accused senior YSRC leader and former minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy’s family of manipulating procurement through their control over local pulp factories. “The Peddireddi family is using pulp units to stir unrest and gain political mileage. Any attempt to disrupt support to farmers or destabilise the government will face firm action,” the minister said in Tirupati.

The YSRC hit back with vehemence. It alleged that the government responded only after Jagan Reddy’s scheduled visit brought the issue into public focus. The party’s leaders criticised the restrictions imposed during the visit, asserting that farmers should be allowed to air their grievances without curbs.

Alerted from top, officials suddenly sprang into action. The administrations of Chittoor and Tirupati deployed special officers to mango procurement centres and pulp factories to streamline the procurement operations. Command control rooms have been set up at the collectorates to track procurement and address farmers’ complaints in real time.

Tirupati district collector Venkateswar and Chittoor collector Sumit promised farmers that there would be no cap on procurement volume or duration. “All farmers will be covered, and the `4 subsidy will be honoured without delay,” they said.