Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday, 3 July 2026, directed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to constitute an expert committee to address the price crisis facing Totapuri mango farmers in Andhra Pradesh, following a field visit to the state where he met growers and heard their grievances firsthand.

Context

Posting on X, Chouhan stated: 'तोतापुरी आम किसानों की आय और आजीविका की सुरक्षा हमारी प्राथमिकता है' ('Protecting the income and livelihood of Totapuri mango farmers is our priority'). During his Andhra Pradesh visit, he met farmer brothers and sisters engaged in Totapuri mango cultivation and listened to their concerns about a sharp fall in mango prices, which he described as a crisis warranting immediate central intervention.

Totapuri is a commercially significant mango variety grown extensively across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and is widely used by the processing and pulp industry. A domestic glut combined with export constraints has pushed farm-gate prices down sharply, squeezing grower incomes at a critical harvest period.

Policy Backdrop

Chouhan directed ICAR — the apex autonomous body under the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for coordinating agricultural research, education and extension — to form a specialist committee that will, within 10 days, visit major Totapuri mango-producing regions. The committee is mandated to consult farmers, processing units, and other stakeholders, and to study all aspects of farming, processing, marketing and export before presenting concrete solutions.

This approach follows an established pattern of central government responses to horticultural price crashes. Similar ICAR-led expert panels have been deployed in the past for crops such as onions, tomatoes and bananas when domestic surpluses and weak export demand created distress. The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), operational since 2014-15, provides a policy framework for post-harvest management and marketing support for crops including mango. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, launched in 2019, separately provides Rs 6,000 per year in direct income support to eligible farmer families.

Stakeholders and Impact

Andhra Pradesh is one of India's leading Totapuri mango-producing states, with horticulture forming a significant pillar of the rural economy. Farmers, mango pulp processing units, and exporters are all directly affected by the price downturn. Processing units that source raw Totapuri for pulp, juice and concentrate exports are a critical link in the value chain, and any stabilisation measure will need to address their procurement practices alongside farm-gate pricing.

Chouhan stated that based on the expert committee's recommendations, 'concrete steps will be taken so that mango-growing farmers of Andhra Pradesh get permanent relief and their income increases significantly.' This signals that the Centre is considering measures beyond short-term price support, potentially including processing infrastructure upgrades, export promotion, and market linkage improvements.

What's Next

The ICAR expert committee is expected to submit its findings within 10 days of its field visits to key Totapuri mango-producing areas. The Union Agriculture Ministry is expected to act on its recommendations with a formal policy or financial intervention. The issue could also surface during the monsoon session of Parliament as part of broader discussions on agricultural distress and horticulture price stabilisation.

The outcome of this exercise will be closely watched by horticulture farmers across southern India, as it could set a precedent for how the Centre responds to similar price shocks in other perishable crops going forward.