Multiple Issues Making Mango Crop Sour For AP Farmers This Year
Farmers toiled for six months to grow the fruit. But while at the peak stage, unseasonal rains and pests have damaged the crop.
ANANTAPUR: Mango farming community within India is grappling with an unprecedented crisis due to a combination of unseasonal rains and pests, even though market prices of the king of fruits have risen.
Farmers toiled for six months to grow the fruit. But while at the peak stage, unseasonal rains and pests have damaged the crop. The fruit has failed to meet the traders’ as well as consumers expectations in terms of quality and price respectively.
Goutham Buddha Society vice president Dr. Asha Devi sums up that not just mango orchards, sweet lemon, pomegranate, sapota, papaya, watermelon, muskmelon and guava plantations too have got severely impacted. “Extreme weather conditions and pest infestations have devastated farmers,” she says.
India is the world’s leading producer of mangoes. The harsh heat between January and February 2025 stunted mango blossoms. Various diseases, including fungal, bacterial and viral, apart from pest attacks, have further reduced the crop yield. The damage is especially significant in regions, such as Rayalaseema, where mangoes, lacking rainfall until the first week of April, are now susceptible to worms and diseases.
Making matters worse, brokers are exploiting the situation, purchasing mangoes from farmers at low prices and reselling them at exorbitant rates, making the fruit unaffordable for the common man. The widespread use of carbide, spraying and dipping in acetylene solution has resulted in artificially ripened, substandard mangoes reaching the market.
Prices of mangoes have soared to ₹900 to ₹1,800 per box in wholesale markets, putting them out of reach of most consumers, said Professor G.V. Siva Reddy of Anantapur. He says middlemen are benefiting at the expense of farmers.
Amid these significant challenges that farmers are facing, there has been little support from the government. For the past decade, farmers have struggled for access to adequate storage facilities, affordable transportation and fair market prices.
K. Suresh, a farmer from Abbedoddi, called on AP agriculture minister K. Atchannaidu to take immediate action to address the plight of farmers. He sought establishment of dedicated storage facilities, better market access and remunerative prices to ensure that farmers receive a fair return for their efforts. “Only with immediate support can we safeguard the quality of mangoes that reach the consumer,” Suresh underlined.
This season’s mango crisis highlights the need for systemic reforms. This would ensure that the horticulture sector receives the necessary support to survive and thrive in the face of unpredictable weather and market pressures.
