Keonjhar: Places in this district have turned into a mango hub. However, farmers and residents of this district rarely manage to savour the luxury of this delicious fruit. Most of the varieties of mangoes cultivated are transported to different places outside this district for sale. And in most cases farmers fail to reap the benefits of mango cultivation as they have to sale the fruit at cheap rates. It is the visiting traders who make the maximum profit from mangoes. The Agriculture department provides high-yielding varieties of mango saplings, but the absence of proper marketing facilities and storage units time and again forces farmers to resort to distress sale of the fruit.
At times, farmers even lease out mango orchards to traders for two to four years because of the amount they get at one go. However, the end result is that the traders make double or at times triple the amount they spend for the lease. Sources said that mango is cultivated on large tracts of land in Telkoi, Sadar, Harichandanpur, Ghatagaon, Banshapal, and Jhumpura blocks of the district as both the climate and soil are conducive. They added that mango cultivation is being done over 100 acres of land in this district. Among the varieties of mangoes produced are ‘Baiganpalei’, ‘Khirsagar’, ‘Himsagar’, ‘Amrapalli’, ‘Langra’ and ‘Neelam’.
However, most of the produces are sent to places like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi and a host of other Indian cities. They are also available in markets at Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Rourkela, but the price range is quite high. Sabitri Nayak, a woman farmer of Golabandha area under Telkoi block said there is no machinery to pluck the mangoes and store them. Then there is also the fear of elephant attacks as they love the fruit. Hence, they have no option but to sell the mangoes to traders from outside the district at throwaway prices. Farmer Murali Nayak pointed out that lack of godowns and cold storage units leads to the quick rotting of mangoes. So they auction the mango trees they have trying to make a quick buck. Senior resident Fakir Charan Mishra informed that the government should implement a proper marketing procedure so that mango farmers benefit from it.
Others alleged that the district administration, except for holding mango fairs, has failed to do anything better for the farmers. Others pointed out that despite Keonjhar district turning into a mango hub, most residents cannot afford the fruit as the price range is very high. When contacted, ORMAS executive Swapan Goswami said six groups have been formed in Telkoi block with each consisting of 40 farmers for the formation of a company. Arrangements for the sale of mangoes at a particular place have also been made in the district. Goswami added that efforts are on to organising mango fairs at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela under the supervision of ORMAS. He asserted that farmers will soon get the right price for the mangoes.