Tirupati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off South India’s first Kisan Train on Wednesday. This train will particularly helpful for farmers from Rayalaseema region by transporting their produce from Ananthapur to New Delhi.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar attended the virtual flag off. The train carried 214 tonnes of Tomato, 138 tonnes of Bananas, 32 tonnes of sweet orange, 11 tonnes of papaya, 8 tons of melons and 3 tonnes of mango to Delhi maiden journey from AP. About 312 metric tonnes of horticultural produce is being harvested in the state in 17.42 lakhs hectares. Nearly 15.6% of fruit productions in the country are done in AP, the CM noted. He also requested railway officials to reduce the fares of Kisan trains as they are slightly on the higher side.

Though AP is called the fruit capital of South India, it was difficult to tap outside markets owing to transportation issues. The situation worsened during the lock down period. But, despite the crisis, nearly 45K tonnes of Banana, 1185 tonnes of vegetables, 1471 tonnes of mango and 8K tonnes of mango pulp were exported from Ananthapur to other countries.