Bengaluru, June 13 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Union Minister for Agriculture, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for urgent ‘Price Deficiency Payment’ and ‘Market Intervention Scheme’ for mango farmers in the state.

The CM has written a letter to Union Minister Chouhan in this regard.

“I am writing to draw your immediate and personal attention to the severe distress being faced by mango farmers across Karnataka due to sharp and unsustainable decline in market prices during the current harvest season.

“Mango is one of Karnataka’s major horticultural crops, cultivated over an area of approximately 1.39 lakh hectares, with estimated production of 8 to 10 lakh metric tonnes this Rabi season, particularly in Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chikkaballapura, Kolar and Bengaluru South districts,” the CM stated.

CM Siddaramaiah added, “During the peak harvest months of May to July, heavy market arrivals have led to substantial price fluctuations. Market prices, which earlier hovered around Rs 12,000 per quintal, have now plummeted to as low as Rs 3,000 per quintal, while the Karnataka State Agriculture Price Commission has recommended the cost of cultivation at Rs 5,466 per quintal.

“This sharp mismatch between production costs and market realisations has placed the farming community under acute financial stress.”

“Thousands of small and marginal mango growers are unable to recover even their basic input costs, leading to widespread protests and growing agrarian anxiety. Unless prompt and effective intervention is undertaken, this crisis may lead to serious socio-economic consequences in the region,” he added.

“In view of the grave situation, I earnestly request that immediate steps be taken to implement a Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for mango, as an urgent policy response. Necessary directions may also be issued to designated central procurement agencies such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) to initiate procurement operations immediately at an appropriate intervention price, ensuring that farmers receive at least the minimum cost of cultivation as a safety net,” CM Siddaramaiah urged.

He stated that such a timely intervention would not only help to stabilise prices but also prevent further deepening of rural distress and will ensure that the interests of the farming community in Karnataka are adequately protected during this difficult period.

CM Siddaramaiah further stressed that he looks forward to Union Minister Chouhan’s immediate and sympathetic consideration in the larger interest of lakhs of farmers in Karnataka.

CM Siddaramaiah on Thursday also wrote a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu requesting him to withdraw the ban on entry of Totapuri mangoes from the state to Chittoor district. He also warned CM Naidu of retaliatory measures.

Meanwhile, mango cultivators staged a protest in Srinivasapura, known as the ‘mango capital of India’, on Wednesday by throwing several quintals of mangoes on the streets following a sudden crash in the fruit’s prices and demanded withdrawal of the ban imposed by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Karnataka mangoes.

–IANS

mka/rad