After sustaining paddy crop loss due to jumbo menace, the farmers of the district are having a good time due to bumper harvest of mangoes this season. To streamline marketing and avoid interference of middlemen, a cooperative society of mango farmers has been formed which has improved the profit margin to a good extent this year.
Normally, the farmers grow 10 to 12 hybrid varieties, 20 commercial varieties and 50 to 60 elite varieties of mangoes in the district. Among all varieties, Amrapalli, Lengada, Bainganapolei and Dosari are in high demand.
With assistance from private investors and farms sponsored by the Forest Department, the farmers have been able to get a good and quality yield this time.
District Supply and Marketing Society (DSMS) and district unit of Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society facilitated sale of mangoes from Ganjara village in Hindol. Green mangoes from the area are sold at ` 10 to 12 per kg in Bhubaneswar market besides being exported to different areas of the State and outside. Two farmers of the village have already sold 10 tons of mangoes in three days, said Nigam Das, Chief Executive Officer of DSMS. “We are facilitating transportation of mangoes to the markets for those mango growers who are interested to sell their produce outside the district. Ten trucks of mangoes were transported to Uttar Pradesh last week,” said Das.
With the support from the Horticulture Department, the farmers sold different varieties of mangoes during the four-day mango exhibition in Bhubaneswar which concluded on Wednesday. The farmers under the banner of Dhenkanal Fruits and Vegetables Marketing Limited sold about ten tons of mangoes at ` 40 per kg and earned huge profits.
Deputy Director of Horticulture Department D Parida said mangoes of the district were highly appreciated by mango lovers and the farmers awarded at the exhibition in presence of the Governor. Meanwhile, the State Government has taken initiatives to open a mango hub on Public Private Partnership (PPP) over 4.9 acres in Govindpur village, Parida said.
Chief Minister is likely to lay the foundation for the hub by May-end. With assistance from the Government, mangoes have been grown over 80 hectares and also established a research station in Saptasajya.
Besides being sold outside the district, the mangoes are doing a good business locally. Around 2,000 women vendors are engaged in the trade from April to June and make a good earning. “We earn about Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 a day from sale of mangoes,” said woman vendors Shravani Naik and Kusum Naik.