JEYPORE: Thunderstorm, accompanied with strong winds, has damaged mango crops in tribal-dominated Koraput district thus increasing its price in the local markets.According to sources, farmers of Jeypore, Kundra, Kotpad, Borrigumma, Lamtaput, Semiliguda, Dasmantpur, Koraput and Laxmipur areas had cultivated Alphanso, Amrapali, Dusseri, Lengada, Bombay Queen, Nillam and Hapus mango varieties on 3,000 acres of land with an expenditure of Rs 30,000 per acre. The three-month toil of the farmers has been virtually washed washed away in the rain as they are left with little to sell.
While the fruits were at reaping stage, the hailstorm had posed a big challenge for the farmers. About 40 per cent of the crops have been damaged due to thunder showers. “With 50 per cent of my crop gone and an investment of Rs 40,000 per acre lost due to the showers, I fear heavy loss,” said Sagar Samantray, a mango grower of Dangarpanusi village.
As a result, the price of mango in local markets has gone up and it is being sold at Rs 50 per kg which is all-time high in the last one decade in the district. Last year, its price was Rs 20 per kg during May and June.
Sources said a farmer earns up to Rs 1 lakh from mango farming in a season and is hardly compensated by any agencies in case of damage. There is no food processing unit in the district or in neighbouring districts to process the damaged fruits. Surprisingly, there is insurance cover for mango crop in neighbouring States, but it is yet to be implemented in Odisha. Though farmers of the district have been requesting the officials of Horticulture department to cover mango under farm insurance policy, no step has been taken in this regard so far, the growers said.
On Wednesday, mango growers demanded that an assessment of the damage due to natural calamity be made and relief provided to them.Every year, the district exports over 200 trucks of fruits to different parts of Odisha besides Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, but in times of calamity, the growers are left in lurch.