Mango bonds promise only juicy returns: Co-operative society of Alphonso orchard owners from Sindhudurg offering prized fruit instead of money as interest
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Co-operative society of Alphonso orchard owners from Sindhudurg offering prized fruit instead of money as interest.
Here’s further proof thatDevgad alphonso mangoes are worth every penny. An organisation representing alphonso mango orchard owners from Sindhudurg district have launched ‘mango bonds’ under which, instead of getting interest on deposit, mangoes are given out as a return on investment.
For instance, if someone invests Rs 50,000 with theDevgad Amba Utpadak Cooperative Society (DAUCS ), they will get mangoes worth Rs 5,000 as interest, explained its director Omkar Sapre.
However, instead of giving them interest in monetary terms, we give them interest in the form of mangoes,” said Sapre. The scheme was launched with the intention of getting cheaper credit to members and providing mangoes at discounted rates to investors, a majority of whom are from outside Maharashtra, especially from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi, according to Sapre. The society has so far been able to raise around Rs 1.5 crore from 300 depositors. The Alphonso mango is categorised as Big, Small and Medium. The investors will be given the ‘Big’ category fruit at a 20 per cent discount of the market rate, Sapre said.
Around 3,000 farmers from Devgad taluka are engaged in Alphonso farming in orchards spread over 50,000 acres. The turnover of Devgad Alphonso is around Rs 550-600 crore per annum.
Last year, a major battle over the Alphonso mango was settled when farmers from Ratnagiri and Devgad agreed that the GI tag for Alphonso should be given to all Alphonsos grown in the Konkan belt - from Sindhudurg in the south to Palghar in the north.
In the entire Konkan area, Alphonso is grown over an area measuring 2.72 lakh acres. The total turnover is around Rs 3,000 crore and around 3.5 lakh people are engaged in farming activities, including around one lakh orchard owners.
Here’s further proof that
For instance, if someone invests Rs 50,000 with the
“Under the scheme we accept deposit of Rs 50,000 or more from depositors and offer them 10 per cent annual interest on their investment.
However, instead of giving them interest in monetary terms, we give them interest in the form of mangoes,” said Sapre. The scheme was launched with the intention of getting cheaper credit to members and providing mangoes at discounted rates to investors, a majority of whom are from outside Maharashtra, especially from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi, according to Sapre. The society has so far been able to raise around Rs 1.5 crore from 300 depositors. The Alphonso mango is categorised as Big, Small and Medium. The investors will be given the ‘Big’ category fruit at a 20 per cent discount of the market rate, Sapre said.
Around 3,000 farmers from Devgad taluka are engaged in Alphonso farming in orchards spread over 50,000 acres. The turnover of Devgad Alphonso is around Rs 550-600 crore per annum.
Last year, a major battle over the Alphonso mango was settled when farmers from Ratnagiri and Devgad agreed that the GI tag for Alphonso should be given to all Alphonsos grown in the Konkan belt - from Sindhudurg in the south to Palghar in the north.
In the entire Konkan area, Alphonso is grown over an area measuring 2.72 lakh acres. The total turnover is around Rs 3,000 crore and around 3.5 lakh people are engaged in farming activities, including around one lakh orchard owners.
