DFRL is going to examine on the Sweetlime and horticulture in Annantpur. Annantpur is a place near Mysore famous for first class Tomatoes and Sweetlime products. Due to severe constraints and some not-upto-the-mark practices has led the business to be shattered into smaller fragments. Anantapur MP Talari Rangaiah has urged many institutions to uplift the conditions therein.
MP urged Mysuru-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) for the cause and it has agreed to provide technolocial support for finding a solution for the abundant tomato and Sweetlime produce in certain seasons in Annantpur and nearby areas.
MP, Annantpur also managed Kisan Rail introduced from Anantapur, but did not work out in later December when the tomato prices were very low both here and in Azad Market in Delhi. This imposed the futher stone in the coffin.
Mr. Rangaiah has met chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), G. Satheesh Reddy to thank him for sending a team of experts from the DFRL to Annantpur that had constituted many studies that is going to find out the scarcity of both resources and skill leading to final improvement of horticulture profile of the place.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) had sanctioned in October last year ₹2.9 crore for subsidising 50% of the transport cost of tomatoes and Sweetlime along with other agriculture produce through Kisan Rail, but concerns were raised over why the money was not being spent on establishing a ‘Tomato’ or ‘Sweetlime’ processing industry in Anantapur district, which could save money for everyone.
The two day visit of the team from DFRL in collaboration with DRDO was asked to provide the place with a feasible and viable solution staying top of the issues and solutions leading to setup new 1,000-tonne or 5,000-tonne capacity processing unit for Groundnut, Sweet Lime and tomatoes at Kadiri, Kalyandurg and Anantapur regions, Deputy Director Horticulture K. Padmalatha told The Hindu.