BENGALURU: The horticulture department is coming to the rescue of distressed mango growers, facilitating them to sell their produce directly to customers across various places in the State. Every year, the Karnataka Mango Board, that comes under the horticulture department, organises an annual mango mela through the month of May at Lalbagh and other places across the State. This year, they cannot organise the mela till the Ministry of Home Affairs issues guidelines for such melas.
Karnataka is among the top mango growers in the country, with cultivation on 1.7 lakh hectares in 16 districts, including Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Dharwad, Ramanagara and others. In a normal season, 12 to 14 lakh tonnes of mangoes are produced in Karnataka, but this year being off-season, the estimated produce is 8 to 9 lakh tonnes. While mango growers from Ramanagara have already started harvesting their fruit, farmers from Kolar and Chikkaballapura will start from May 15.
This year, hit by the Covid pandemic, farmers are unable to export their fruit to other states and countries. Hailstorms had already damaged the crop in some places. Karnataka has 162 APMCs, of which 40 APMCs get mangoes from these farmers and which are sent to different states as well as processing units. As on Friday, 13,952.5 tonnes of mangoes had been harvested, of which around 50 per cent is sent to the APMCs.
Rajendra Kataria, secretary, horticulture department, told TNSE that he has asked his officials to identify smaller markets. “The Mango Board will facilitate the sale of mangoes and farmers can sell directly to the public in these smaller markets. For instance, in Bengaluru, there are small markets in Byatarayanapura, Jayanagara and Madiwala, where farmers will be given space to set up stalls,” he said.
Lockdown leaves a bitter taste for mango growers
KOLAR: The Covid-19 lockdown has left mango growers in the lurch. They are awaiting a favourable decision from the state government which has already announced a special package for flower growers and other weaker sections. About 1.5 lakh families, totally dependent on the ‘King of Fruits’ for their survival, are likely to face losses this season, as inter-state transport has been blocked and people are reluctant to savour the fruit. However, the government’s decision to sell mango varieties such as Badami, Mallika, Neelam, Malgova, Kalapad through Nandini milk parlours has come as a relief for them. Srinivasapura, known as the ‘mango city’, has 30,000 hectares of land under mango cultivation against 15,000 hectares in other parts of the district totalling 45,000 hectares in the district alone. There will be more demand for Srinivasapura fruits known as ‘Totapuri’, followed by varieties like Badami, Mallika, Neelam, Malgova, Kalapahad.