Bengaluru, 22 June

 Former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Sunday sought PM Narendra Modi's intervention to rescue Karnataka farmers facing steep losses due to poor yield of mangoes, price crashes, and interstate trade disruptions.

In a letter to Modi, Gowda said that Karnataka, a major horticulture hub in the country, especially in the production of mangoes, is witnessing an unprecedented crisis. 

He noted that mangoes are grown on 1.39 lakh hectares across districts like Bengaluru Rural, Urban, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, and Ramanagara, with an expected production of eight lakh to 10 lakh tonne during the Rabi season. However, this year, output has fallen by more than 70 per cent due to adverse weather and disease.

"The situation worsened between May and June when market arrivals surged, causing mango prices to plummet from Rs 12,000 per quintal to as low as Rs 3,000 per quintal--far below the cultivation cost of Rs 5,466 per quintal," he said.

Many small and marginal farmers are now unable to recover even their input costs, pushing them into distress and triggering protests in several districts.

The former prime minister also highlighted the additional blow to growers along Karnataka's border due to Andhra Pradesh banning the entry of Totapuri mangoes into its Chittoor district.

"This interstate restriction has disrupted the supply chain and aggravated post-harvest losses," he wrote, adding that the Karnataka Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have already raised the matter with Andhra counterparts, seeking a reversal of the ban.

Calling the situation dire, he urged PM Modi to immediately instruct central agencies like National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) to begin mango procurement under the Price Deficiency Payment (PDP) and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).

He suggested that procurement should be done directly from farmers and through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to ensure fair prices and prevent further rural distress.

The JD(S) patriarch expressed confidence that the Centre would extend timely support to safeguard the livelihoods of mango farmers in Karnataka.

He also wrote a similar letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.