MUTHALAMADA (PALAKKAD): Mango farmers in Muthalamada panchayat in Chittur taluk are a worried lot. Delayed and poor yield due to climate change have denied them the price advantage they used to enjoy and left them vulnerable to the vagaries of the market. Muthalamada panchayat in Palakkad is known as the ‘Mango City' for its unique early yield and exotic quality. Mango is cultivated in more than 2,500 hectares here. The annual yield is estimated to be over 35,000 tonnes of premium varieties like Alphonso, Banganapilly, Malgova, Kalapadi, Suvernarekha, Sindhooram etc.
Palakkad district is the main commercial mango producing tract in the State. Arrival of ripe mango begins in January as mango trees flower early at Muthalamada. As they are the first to hit the market, mangoes here fetch good price and export orders. But climate change and unseasonal rain in November and December have upset the calculations of mango farmers and exporters. Late flowering and the consequent delay in harvest and the poor yield have denied the early bird advantage enjoyed by the farmers here.
There are more than 30 exporters and 26 semi-permanent and temporary pack houses in Muthalamada. Despite these setbacks, a farmer, Becker, has established a modern pack house with a mango ripening chamber, which will be functional by April first week. Deputy Director of Agriculture Jose Varghese said the State Horticulture Mission was extending all support to mango farmers. It also gave training to the farmers on ripening of mango by using modern techniques at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, which is the main mango growing tract in India. But the mango farmers demanded that the government should help them come out of the crisis so that Muthalamada remained one of the main producers of export quality mangoes in the country. They demanded immediate implementation of a proposal by the Backward Area Development Grant Fund.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 20.03.2010
Palakkad district is the main commercial mango producing tract in the State. Arrival of ripe mango begins in January as mango trees flower early at Muthalamada. As they are the first to hit the market, mangoes here fetch good price and export orders. But climate change and unseasonal rain in November and December have upset the calculations of mango farmers and exporters. Late flowering and the consequent delay in harvest and the poor yield have denied the early bird advantage enjoyed by the farmers here.
There are more than 30 exporters and 26 semi-permanent and temporary pack houses in Muthalamada. Despite these setbacks, a farmer, Becker, has established a modern pack house with a mango ripening chamber, which will be functional by April first week. Deputy Director of Agriculture Jose Varghese said the State Horticulture Mission was extending all support to mango farmers. It also gave training to the farmers on ripening of mango by using modern techniques at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, which is the main mango growing tract in India. But the mango farmers demanded that the government should help them come out of the crisis so that Muthalamada remained one of the main producers of export quality mangoes in the country. They demanded immediate implementation of a proposal by the Backward Area Development Grant Fund.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 20.03.2010
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