Pathikonda Tomato Processing Unit To Ease Farmers’ Woes

Kurnool: The much-awaited tomato processing unit at Pathikonda will soon be on stream. The state government recently issued GO 37, allocating Rs 11 crore for the project on a 2.5-acre piece of land in Dudekonda, and local legislator KE Shyam Babu would lay the foundation on March 14.

With this, the difficulties being faced by local tomato farmers are likely to be resolved.

Andhra Pradesh is the lead state in tomato productivity, recording 41.22mt per hectare across 62,000 hectares with an estimated yield of around 22,17,000mt. In Kurnool alone, tomatoes are cultivated on around 4,800 hectares, yielding approximately 1,67,591mt per annum.

In the Pathikonda region, tomato cultivation is primarily carried out by smalltime farmers with land holdings ranging between 1 to 3 acres. Tomatoes are produced during two main seasons — August to October (Kharif) and December to April (Rabi). These are brought to the Pathikonda wholesale market, the second largest in the state after Madanapalli in Chittoor district. The sales are done through an auction process.

Fluctuating market prices, ranging from a minimum of Rs 2.68 per kg during peak harvesting season to a maximum of Rs 65 per kg in the off-season, have prevented farmers from receiving remunerative returns to their produce.

To address this issue, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had promised to set up a tomato processing unit in Pathikonda during his election campaign last year. The processing unit is expected not only to minimize wastage but also open up opportunities for micro and small-scale entrepreneurship under government schemes such as the PM-formalization of micro food processing enterprises scheme of MOFPI.

In addition to this, specialized paste, pulp and juice processors are expanding their capacities by working closely with farmer clusters to improve supply through better production practices, while seed companies are developing specialized seeds suitable to the Indian processing tomato market.

Earlier, former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy promised a sanction of Rs 10 crore for establishing a tomato processing unit at Pathikonda during his visit to the area on June 1, 2023, but the project did not materialize.

An administrative sanction was later issued via GO Rt 739 on October 25 the same year for an integrated tomato processing unit at an investment of Rs 12.05 crore, funded by APFPS.

Initially, the AP food processing society (APFPS) had planned to establish the unit and hand over the civil structure and machinery to M/s Pathikonda vegetable farmers producer company, but these plans remained on paper.

Now, under the Operation Greens scheme, APFPS will take the responsibility for the unit, with the state government’s fresh allocation of Rs 11 crore. Officials are aiming to complete the project within the next nine months, provided all conditions are favorable, according to a senior marketing official.