Ask tomato growers in Madanapalle or mango farmers in Chittoor what they fear most. It is not drought but a bumper crop.
The plight of mango farmers is no different. “Farm ponds, check dams and micro-irrigation coverage are still patchy. Chief Minister N. “If this project is implemented in true spirit, tomato farmers need not bring all their produce on day one. They can grade and store the produce for three to four days, and send them to Chennai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad based on demand. “The multi-crore project should compulsorily address farmers’ issues first and those faced by the food processing industry as well. Farmers recall the promises made by Narendra Modi. He described poverty as not only the lack of rain but also the absence of value addition. He promised agro-industries.
In 2025, Totapuri growers in Chittoor faced rain damage yet had a bumper harvest, and still ended up at the receiving end. The government announced a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹12 a kg plus a ₹4 subsidy, but it never reached the yard. In 2026, prices fell from ₹120 in May to ₹30 in June. The ₹1-lakh-crore Rayalaseema Integrated Horticulture Hub project seeks to fix this. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are to lay its foundation stone at Madanapalle on October 2. The project envisages ₹40,000 crore from the Centre under the Purvodaya scheme and ₹60,000 crore in private investment across 201 clusters in 10 districts. In April 2014 at Tirupati, Mr.
When Handri-Neeva water reaches late, sowing is delayed and harvests bunch together,” a horticulture official in Rajampeta said. For mango, it could mean pulp units, pack houses for export and direct linkage to processors instead of dependence on the local mandi during a three-week glut,” said Kothur Babu, president of the Chittoor District Mango Producers’ Association. Importantly, we need a separate Central Mango Board on the lines of the Tobacco Board,” said Kattamanchi Govardhan Bobby, chairman, All India Food Processors Association, South Zone. Modi, then the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, said Rayalaseema tomato could become world-class ketchup if adequate cold storage facilities were available.
“Mr. Now, there is the double-engine government. Modi had spoken about cold storage and the tomato industry in Rayalaseema in 2014. We are still waiting for the promise to be fulfilled,” said Manjunath, 42, from Valmikipuram.
