Powerful agro-revolution in UP's Kakori is giving mango farmers their due

A tiny but powerful agro-revolution in Uttar Pradesh's Kakori is giving mango farmers their due

As news reports emerge of mango producers in Karnataka dumping their produce on the roadside because a glut in production has resulted in a crash in wholesale prices, there’s some good news from Uttar Pradesh. In a bid to access retail customers directly, orchard owners and mango aficionados have come together to initiate a Mango Festival and Farmers Market in Lucknow. The festival not only showcases over 700 varieties of mangos, but it also includes a day trip to some of the best orchards around Lucknow.

The orchard visit introduces people to mango growing, allows them to buy straight from the producers, and gives them a taste of the rich culture around the king of fruit. For the producers, this is nothing short of a revolution. Not only does it provide better profit margins, but it is also fostering the growth of small ancillary agri-businesses such as pickle and jam-making and sustainable tourism.

“It all started when I visited my family’s orchard in Malihabad and noticed how the lack of access to the market was making mango growing commercially unviable,” says Jyotsna Kaur Habibullah, who has spearheaded this effort. For smaller growers, selling their produce in the wholesale market at Rs 10-20 per kg, even as the fruit was sold to the end consumers at three times the price, was demoralising.

It came as no surprise to her, then, to learn that prime orchard land in Kakori and Malihabad (areas near Lucknow known for their fine mangos) have been shrinking over the years, as many small producers have either gone out of business or chosen to use their land for other, more lucrative purposes. “I felt I had to do something,” she says. “After all, mangos are much more than a summer fruit — poetry, song, cuisine and, indeed, an entire culture has evolved around the fruit.”

With the Central Institute of Sub-tropical Horticulture (CISH) in Kakori, 14 km from Lucknow, Habibullah brainstormed direct marketing strategies for producers so that they could get better margins. The brainstorming resulted in two ideas — a regular farmers’ market and annual mango festival in Lucknow. With UP Tourism and CISH as partners, both the initiatives have been running successfully since 2013. The farmers’ market gives farmers from across UP, as well as about 30 self-help groups, a platform to sell their produce directly. The mango festival started six years ago and has provided an opportunity for producers to sell mangos directly. Every year, it hosts custodian farmers, who are still conserving rare local varieties.

“The idea is also to create additional rural livelihoods by promoting mango tourism in this area as well as generate awareness among consumers about the mutual benefits of purchasing fruit from farmers,” she says. All the events are managed by volunteers and interns, and 150 people on an average sign up for orchard visits every year.

On the anvil is a non-profit app that will link individual producers directly with the market. “This will not only give them direct access to the market, but also enable mango lovers across India to order handpicked, farm fresh mangos from some of the best orchards in the country.” The app is being developed free-of-cost, and Habibullah is hoping to find sponsors to host it. This year’s UP Mango Festival has several individual and corporate donors like Maaza, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Fever FM. “There are several ways in which corporates could get involved,” says Habibullah. “They could set up mango-tasting tents during the festival, organise orchard visits for their employees and, of course, donate funds to help us cover the cost of the app.”

Slated for June 17, this year’s mango festival has curated a special visit to the Abbasi Orchard in Kakori. Guests can look forward to not only some of the best mangos in the area, but also some of the melt-in-the-mouth kebabs for which Kakori is famous. As for the mango producers, they’re looking forward to becoming key stakeholders in a tiny but powerful agri-revolution that could pave the way for many more.

To learn more, visit upmangofestival.org

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