With the looming uncertainty in life, it has become very difficult for the individual farming communities in Andhra Pradesh, India to sustain their crops.
In a noble initiative by some of the Telugu NRIs, they have pitched their interest in buying the yield produced by the farmers. Once the items have been sold and procured by them, the same NRIs are not reselling them for their own profits but distributing them to the needy and poor people who are struggling amidst the Covid-19 outbreak.
This initiative has been termed as the “Tomato Challenge”.
Because of the nationwide lockdown that the country is under, the farmers have been facing a hard time selling their produce to earn money from it.
Hearing the plight of the farmers, Dr Vasudeva Reddy, a US-based NRI started the “Tomato Challenge” to not just help out the farmers but also the individuals who are struggling to get two square meals in a day.
Mr Reddy further acquired some funding from other NRIs in his connections and then decided to help out the farmers in Chittoor with the money that collected. They procured vegetables and other fresh produce from the farmers with the generated revenue.
As per the reports share by ANI news, these NRIs have managed to buy 40 tonnes of tomato, 12 tonnes of sweet potato, 2 tonnes of cabbage, 5 tonnes of carrots and 3 tonnes of brinjal from the farmers residing in Tamballapalle village.
When contacted, Mr Reddy expressed how he was shattered knowing the state of the farmers from his state. He praised the Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy saying that he has been doing more than enough for everyone. But, the farmers have been incurring a lot of losses from the lack of sales of their produce.
As the inter-state transportation is closed because of the lockdown, they were unable to send the produce to the neighbouring state for sale.
“We thought of how to help those farmers and started this ‘Tomato Challenge’. Many celebrities and kind-hearted NRIs are contributing to our task. Particularly, we came to know that farmers in Chittoor and Anantapuram district and tomato farmers at Prakasam district have lost a lot of their produce. We came forward to help the farmers. I thank every NRI who has cooperated in this endeavour,” Mr Reddy further added.
