Goa's mango growers face a 50-70% crop decline due to scorching summer, resulting in profit and expenditure losses.
The harvest output suffered from insufficient pre-monsoon precipitation, delayed flowering, pest infestations, and various other factors.
"During the time of pollination, the weather was too hot. This affected flowering. The overall production at my farm alone was 75% less than usual and we hardly sold any mangoes as a result," said farmer Nestor Rangel.
In order to eradicate the fruit flies that lay their eggs inside the mangoes, he immerses the fruits in water heated to 50 degrees Celsius for a duration of 30 to 45 minutes. Subsequently, the mangoes are soaked in an organic fungicide derived from castor oil for 15 minutes to mitigate the risk of fungal diseases. Following this treatment, the mangoes undergo a thorough drying process.
Another mango cultivator, Avinash Talkar, shared that despite adverse weather conditions and productivity challenges imposed by the pandemic in the past, he managed to yield a minimum of 10,000 mangoes from his farm.
However, this year he only harvested a total of 4,500 mangoes.
"We had a delayed fruiting season and an even delayed harvest season due to the weather conditions. Compared to previous years, the yield has come down by over 50%, resulting in very low profits," he said.
"The production is so low that I am not even able to recover the cost of expenditure on the crop, let alone pay the labour force for their efforts," he said.
As the month of May unfolded, additional mango varieties like Mangilar, Alphonso, and Gotam began to grace the local markets. Now, in June, mango varieties from different states have commenced their gradual arrival in the retail market.