Mango growers from State to visit foreign plantations on study tour

In a first, mango growers of the State will go abroad to study plantations and understand the markets there, Horticulture Minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa said here on Tuesday.

Speaking to media at the inauguration of a seminar on mango development and marketing, organised by the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation  (KSMDMC), the minister said two lakh hectares were under mango cultivation. This year the aim is to increase the production to 11-14 lakh tonnes. He said cold storage units would come up in Dharwad, Mysuru, Ramanagar and Challakere (Chitradurga) district this year.

KSMDMC chairperson M Kamalakshi Rajanna said there was a demand for Karnataka mangoes in Malaysia, the US, Europe and Japan. Consumers pay up to Rs 300 a kg.

A mango mela will be held in Malaysia in April. A 50-member team, including one grower from each district along with KSMDMC and horticulture officials, will attend the mela. Nine teams have gone on inter-city study tours.

The corporation has spent Rs 13 crore to help farmers grow mangoes and improve facilities. The corporation wants to extend a subsidy of Rs 10 lakh to companies willing to set up mango pulp unit and Rs two lakh subsidy to set up hot water treatment plant. There is scope to set up 100 units in Karnataka, she said.

She added there is only one unit approved by the Centre to export mangoes in Malur. The KSMDMC pays them Rs 22 per kg to export mangoes. Around 2,800 growers have enrolled in the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

The state exports 500 tonnes annually, but this year KSMDMC is planning to export 10,000 tonnes and farmers have come forward to export 5000 tonnes directly. Training centres are being set up to create awareness among farmers to prevent exploitation by middlemen from other states. A harvest training centre at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore is being set up at Hogalagere in Kolar and post harvest training centre at a cost of Rs 8 crore in Madeekere in Chintamani taluk,  Kamalakshi added.
DH News Service