No final decision yet on mango support price, but talks intensify in Karnataka cabinet
The long-pending demand for a support price for mango farmers in Karnataka was taken up during the state cabinet meeting held on Wednesday under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha. However, no final decision was made on the issue.
Responding to the mounting pressure from mango growers and agricultural leaders, the Chief Minister directed Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy and Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to meet the Union Agriculture Minister in the coming days to urge the Centre for appropriate relief measures. Sources indicate that an official announcement regarding support price may be made shortly.
The cabinet also discussed the ongoing distress faced by mango farmers due to the price crash. Industries Minister K.H. Muniyappa reportedly raised the issue of Andhra Pradesh denying market access to mangoes from Karnataka, particularly in the Chittoor region, adding to the crisis for growers.
With mango prices plummeting this season, farmers, traders, and local leaders had hoped the cabinet would announce a Minimum Support Price (MSP). Their disappointment was visible as protests continued in several regions. In Bengaluru, former minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar met the Chief Minister on Wednesday urging immediate action. JDS MLAs G.K. Venkateshivareddy and Samruddhi Manjunath staged a protest near the Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha demanding government intervention.
In Kolar district, Neelaturu Chinnappareddy, president of the Mango Growers’ Welfare Association, led a total shutdown in Srinivaspur taluk to highlight the plight of the farmers. Farmers have been pressing for an MSP similar to the one declared by the Andhra Pradesh government.
Due to the steep drop in prices, many growers have left their Totapuri mangoes unharvested, with fruits rotting on trees and in orchards—symbolic of the deepening agrarian crisis. Farmers say the lack of a price guarantee has rendered this season economically disastrous.
