Support prices must be fixed for fruits, veggies to assist farmers

Hyderabad: Former MLAs Julakanti Rangareddy and Teegala Sagar, State General Secretary of the Farmers’ Association, emphasised that the government should take the initiative to ensure that crops, which have been cultivated with great difficulty, receive a support price.

If this is not possible, cold storage facilities should be set up to preserve the crops until a support price is achieved. A team from the Telangana Farmers’ Association recently inspected the Gaddi Annaram fruit market in Batasingaram, located in the Abdullahpur Met Mandal of Rangareddy district.

Speaking to reporters during this visit, Julakanti Rangareddy highlighted the numerous challenges faced by farmers who have invested heavily in their crops but are not receiving the expected yield.

He described the distress of watching the mango harvest, damaged by wind and rain, suffer devastating losses. He expressed concern that, under these circumstances, traders and commission agents are exploiting their vulnerability, selling the produce for only 25,000 to 70,000 rupees per ton, which he believes is far too low.