Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham on Sunday (September 14, 2025) urged the state government to immediately intervene and support farmers from tomatoes who are rushing under serious losses as a result of the price accident.
In the statement issued here, President Sangham V. Krishnayy and the Secretary General of the state K. Prabhakar Reddy demanded that the government set a minimum support price of 25 GBP for kg for tomatoes and to provide public procurement to protect farmers from the use of merchants.
Sangham pointed out that production costs increased with high prices of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. They claimed that farmers could not get their investments back.
After chili, tobacco, mango, papaya and onion growers, huge losses suffered at the beginning of this year, tomato farmers have now been pushed into emergency, as prices dropped to only 2 ₹ per kg in Kurnool and 5 to 6 £ 6 per kg in Madanapalle
“Only if tomatoes load at least 20 to 20 GBP per kg, can farmers break evenly. Instead, traders created cartels to suppress prices and officials on the market instead of farmers’ interests,” Sangham leaders.
They recalled that, despite the government announcement of market intervention funds and minimal support prices for Chilli and Mango early this year, the benefits have never reached farmers. “Not a single rupees of the promised price difference were credited in the farmer’s accounts and even tobacco contracts were not partial and at prices under the government announcement,” they said, accused the government of not enforcing responsibility for companies and merchants.
They demanded that the government immediately intervened for tomato traders, forced a fair minimum price, and procure the crop directly through government agencies. “The government must stop issuing hollow promises and acting definitely to protect farmers,” they added.
Published – 14 September 2025 06:58 IS IS
