KENDRAPARA: Subash Swain, a mango farmer of Naranapur village had hoped to earn good money during this harvesting season. However, coronavirus has come as a wet blanket for him. Like Subash, the fate of around 4,000 mango farmers of the district hangs in balance.
Farmers from the district who used to supply the king of fruits to Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other places of the State, are in distress owing to the lockdown induced disruption in marketing and transportation.
Ashok Jena of Iswarpur village said the lockdown is a welcome step taken by the Government to prevent the spread of the virus but the mango farmers are concerned about how long the problem will persist.
The farmers of the district have received bumper harvest of mangoes this year but under the presence circumstances, they are unable to sell their produce.
While they cannot access the markets, traders are also not coming to the villages to procure the fruits. To make matters worse, entry points of several villages have been barricaded by their residents to prevent entry of outsiders.
Even as the Government has allowed the farmers to sell their produce, vehicle owners are reluctant to supply mangoes to other parts of the State, said Abinas Das of Kendrapara. Owing to non-supply of the fruit to other places, the local markets are flooded with it. This has brought down the price of mangoes to Rs 15-20 per kg.
Meanwhile, Kendrapara ADM Niranjan Sethi assured the mango farmers that they will not face any issues while supplying their produce to other places.
“We have directed the officials concerned to ensure barricades in rural areas are lifted to allow traders to purchase mangoes from the farmers,” he said.