The American Telugu Association for Farmers (ATAFF) has rallied around tomato growers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Rayalaseema region by purchasing tomatoes and vegetables worth ₹50 lakh and distributing them among needy villagers under an initiative called the ‘Tomato Challenge’.
After getting to know of the challenges being faced by the farmers, who had cultivated tomatoes on a large scale and were unable to sell them due to the lockdown, the ATAFF members decided to come to the help of the farmers by buying out their stocks. The members then donated the entire stock among poor villagers who could not afford to buy nutritious vegetables due to the loss of livelihood during the pandemic, thus ensuring a win-win situation.
Vasudeva Reddy, N. Subbareddy Chinthagunta, Venkat Kalluri and Prabhakar Reddy Chinepalli financially supported the Tomato Challenge.
In a press release here on Thursday, the association said that they bought all the tomatoes from producers and those who benefited most were farmers in Kodumuru of Kurnool district, Rayachoti of Kadapa district, Railway Koduru, and Kadapa city where tomatoes and mangoes were distributed. In Atmakur of Nellore district, onions and carrots were distributed. The largest quantum of tomatoes, however, was purchased from Chittoor district, they said.
In all, 200 farmers from Tambalapalli, Kothakota and Vinjamuru mandals of Chittoor district benefited from the charity programme. The team also purchased 250 tonnes of various vegetables like carrots, cabbage, brinjal, green chillies and fruits like mangoes and oranges from Giddalur of Prakasam district and distributed them among 60,000 persons (4 kg each), the release said.