Anantapur:Following a sharp decline in tomato prices and alleged exploitation by traders, farmers staged a protest on Tuesday by throwing tomatoes onto NH-44 Road on the outskirts of Anantapur. Despite tomatoes retailing at around ₹20 per kg, traders have reportedly set the price for a 15 kg box between ₹100 and ₹200, forming what the farmers claim is a syndicate to fix prices unfairly.
The farmers are demanding government intervention to address the situation. In Anantapur district, which has over 55,000 acres of tomato cultivation, farmers rely on the Kakkalapalli and Madanapalle markets to sell their produce.
The protestors criticised mandi merchants for charging a 10 per cent commission on their produce. They also accused a group of traders of monopolizing the market and underpaying farmers. CPM leader Rambhoopal alleged that traders are extracting an additional ₹500 each from farmers in the form of lorry association fees and local mandi maintenance charges.
Rambhoopal called for the government to establish a minimum support price for tomatoes and reduce commission rates during periods of low prices. He also urged the district revenue officer (DRO) to address the widespread irregularities in the mandi system.
