Bihar: Bhagalpur mango farmers stare at poor sales, losses

BHAGALPUR: Despite a bumper yield this year, mango farmers of the Bhagalpur region are feeling apprehensive about the impact of the Covid-induced lockdown on the sale of the seasonal fruit.
Ashok Choudhary, also known as ‘Bihar’s Mango Man’, told this newspaper that the farms in Bhagalpur and Banka had yielded plenty of mangoes this year. “However, we apprehend a fall in sales due to low demand amid the lockdown,” he added.
Known for developing more than 100 varieties of mangoes at his farm in Maheshi-Tilakpur village under Sultanganj block, Choudhary has now formed a cluster of farmers, who can send their harvest to Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and other parts of the country.
M Feza Ahmad, a professor at Bihar Agricultural University, also pointed out that the lockdown was likely to hit the sale of different varieties of mangoes like ‘Jardalu’, ‘Malda’ and ‘Bambaiya’ grown in the Bhagalpur region.
He added, “These popular mangoes are not just sold in different parts of India, but also exported to Bangladesh and Nepal. The state and central governments should, therefore, come forward to help the farmers.”
SDO (agriculture) Dilip Kumar Singh, who is also the officiating district agriculture officer, said, “We are working on a strategy for the sale of mangoes grown in the Bhagalpur region.”