Mysore: A three-day Mango and Jackfruit fest which was inaugurated on Thursday, found and overwhelming response from both growers and consumers. The Mela provided an oppurtunity to growers to sell their produce directly to the consumers. In less than two-days, many stalls were empty as demand was high.
Many farmers sold large quantities of fruits. “I have sold four ton of mangoes in two-days. Now, I am waiting for fruits to arrive from my farm. The demand is very high for all varieties of fruits,” said Siddaraju, a farmer from Magadi taluk. Siddaraju was marketing his fruits in Bengaluru, but, after witnessing the great demand at the Mango and Jack Fruit Mela, he is planning to sell all his products in Mysuru.
Another farmer, Lavakumar, a farmer from Ramnagara sold 2.5 ton of mangoes. He got a customer from Tamil Nadu for his local product ‘Sakkare gutti’ mango. “I had displayed ‘Sakkare gutti’, a local variety of mango, which received great demand. A fruit vendor from TN took 50 kilo gram of Sakkare gutti as a sample.
According to farmers this time the mela has good response compared to previous year. “In previous year, I could sell only 3 ton of mango in three-day. But, this time I have sold 4 ton in less than two-day,” said Lavakumar. Horticulture Department authorities claimed that as tourist inflow is high and the harvest has decreased this year owing to rains, the availability of good quality mangoes is less.
Speaking to Newskarnataka.com. Horticulture Department Deputy Director H M Nagaraj said, as many as 20 varieties of the fruit were exhibited at the venue, including Badami, Ratnagiri Alphonso, Mallika, Totapuri, Neelam, Raspuri, and Dasheri, Sakkare gutti. “The aim of the Mela is the exchange of information between farmers and scientists from various institutes. This will help farmers produce better quality crops”. This time, authorities have targeted a sale of 100 tons of mangoes, ” we will reach our target without any difficulty due to good response”, he added.
There are around 30 stalls from different parts of the state and most of the stalls sold minimum 1.5 ton of mango in less than two-day. Even visitors too are happy as they get fresh mangoes. “I have been to many melas. This mela is like a festival for mango lovers like me. I have purchased three-kilos and again I will come morrow to buy some more. The Mela should be on throughout the season,” said Ramesh Gowda, a hotelier.
