As part of the Andhra Pradesh Government’s efforts to promote among farmers and consumers mangoes that are not ripened using harmful calcium carbide, the Department of Horticulture will organise a Mamidi Mela (mango mela) that will have on sale the best varieties of mango from East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam at the MVP Colony Rytu Bazaar from May 9 to 14.
Collector V. Sheshadri said here on Monday evening the mela would also help the farmer get the right price for his fruit. Mango melas would also be held at Hyderabad, Khammam and Tirupati. A 150 farmers from the four districts would display and sell 150 tonnes to 200 tonnes of mango at the show.
Use of calcium carbide for ripening fruit was banned by the Government last year as it causes gastric problems, ulcers and even cancer. A programme to promote non-carbon use was taken up under the Rashtriya Vikas Yojna, said the project director of the micro irrigation project S. Ram Mohan, who is the co-ordinator of the Mamidi Mela here. Now, the use of ethylene gas was being encouraged.
Farmers participating in the mela would be given a subsidy on the plastic crates used to pack the mangoes to avoid damage to the fruit; transport and cold storage facilities would also be given. It would take three days for the fruits to ripen using ethylene gas.
Half of the farmers participating in the mela are small and marginal farmers and each farmer is allowed to bring up to 2 tonnes of fruits. Mango by-products would also be on sale at the mela. The mangoes would be graded at the farms and only the best fruit would be sold at the mela. The price of the produce would be fixed by taking the average of the wholesale, retail and Rytu Bazaar prices, Ram Mohan said.