ITC to drive tomato revolution in AP’s Kuppam with ₹8 crore agro cluster

Tirupati: Conglomerate giant ITC is set to anchor a massive agro-industrial shift in Kuppam through a strategic partnership aimed at globalising the local tomato crop. Announced during Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s comprehensive three day tour of his home constituency Kuppam, the initiative is part of an expansive ₹9,322 crore industrial roadmap designed to turn the region into a high-tech manufacturing and agribusiness powerhouse.The centerpiece of the agricultural overhaul is an agreement between the Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA) and ITC to establish a dedicated fruits and vegetables cluster.Under this framework, ITC will deploy ₹8 crore to build climate-controlled infrastructure to support the sustainable cultivation of 10,000 tonnes of high-yield tomatoes across 1,000 acres. This supply chain will directly connect local growers with lucrative corporate and consumer markets in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.To ensure local farmers can keep pace with this corporate infrastructure, KADA also locked in a secondary pact with Visalakshi Innovations Sustainable Value Chain to introduce modern farming machinery and precision agricultural practices to the region.The ITC-led agrarian boost aligns directly with a wider, multi-sector economic surge currently sweeping through Kuppam. In tandem with the farming initiatives, the Chief Minister inaugurated a ₹200-crore greenfield poultry processing facility by ABIS Proteins (Nutri Feeds) and highlighted incoming dairy processing plants from Mother Dairy and Shreeja Milk.

These private food-processing investments, backed by public funding for roads and Handri-Neeva irrigation networks, are projected to establish Rayalaseema as India’s leading horticulture and dairy zone.Beyond food and agriculture, Naidu unveiled a diversified development framework that taps into manufacturing and heavy industry. Major upcoming ventures include an ₹899-crore sports footwear manufacturing plant by the South Korean Hwaseung Group (producing for Adidas) slated to create over 20,000 jobs, a ₹2,081-crore battery anode plant by the Atha Group, and a specialized trainer aircraft unit by Pioneer Clean Amps.