THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Mango Fest has turned out to be a platform for mango farmers from the State to address their grievances. States like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have domination in the business. Not only because of the climate and topography of these states. “It has also much to do with the governments in these states. They support mango cultivation and the farmers to a great extent. No government here has yet acknowledged this as a form of agriculture!,” said V Mohankumar, a farmer from Muthalamada in Palakkad, who is also the secretary of the Mango Farmers’ and Merchants’ Association. “At the inauguration of the fest, we brought this to the notice of the Minister. States like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka provide so much infrastructural support to mango farmers,” he added. The silver lining all these years has been the support and guidance provided by the State Horticulture Mission. Parts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur and Palakkad have got mango orchards. “Muthalamada is the only place which has compact farming, the rest are in homesteads,” says Ajai Chandra, project officer of the State Horticulture Mission (SHM)-Kerala. The SHM has played a significant role in the success stories of Muthalamada; Ex-Servicemen Cooperative Colony Farm, Vettilappara, Athirappally; and Sanghamaithri in Pallichal, Thiruvananthapuram. “On nearly 3,500-4,000 hectares, we cultivate hybrid mango varieties. We were the ones who produced the first hybrid mango crop in Asia. Muthalamada, once upon a time, had groundnut cultivation. When that failed, people switched over to mango and now it truly deserves the title of Mango City,” says Mohan Kumar. You get Alphonso, Banganappally, Kalapadi, Rumani, Tottapuri, Nadassala etc. The last 30 years have seen nearly 500 members taking up mango farming in this area. ‘Jawan Pasand’ is the pride of the Ex-Servicemen Cooperative Colony Farm. This variety is special, since each mango weighs at least 4 kg! “When the land was allotted to us for rehabilitation and settlement, this variety was already there. It is not very sweet and actually tastes like a ripe papaya. But, there is a huge demand for the sapling. Actually, if you place bookings this year, you will get the sapling next year,” said a representative of the Farm. It was in 1952 that the society was formed to rehabilitate and settle ex-servicemen of the Second World War. There are some 24 varieties of mangoes in the farm, which include Chandanam, Orange Mango, Hima Pasand, Nadassala, Jahangir, Mundappa, Nasi Pasand and Chandrakkaran. These varieties have only been exhibited at the fest. Saplings have been kept for sale. R Balachandran Nair is one such devoted farmer who has, in fact, given a new lease of life to some 1,500 farmers in Thiruvananthapuram district. He brought them together some eight years back and started mango cultivation, which is now reaping rich dividends. And he is presently procuring mangoes from places like Parassala, Chenkal, Anavur, Venganoor and Kattakkada and selling them in the market. Kotturkkonam is a matter of nostalgia for Thiruvananthapuram. “This variety is indigenous to Thiruvananthapuram. The cultivation of the same has gone down, especially because it requires a huge space. Kattakkada is one area which cultivates this variety in abundance. Now you get graft variety, which doesn’t grow very tall and bears fruit in three years. It is naturally ripened and since it is fibrous, it is found to be good for cancer,” says Ajai Chandra.
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