Mango production has recorded an increase of six per cent in India this year and production in Tamil Nadu doubled from the yield in 2013-2014, according to data submitted by the Agriculture Ministry to Parliament. However, farmers in the State claim the data is wrong.
According to the data presented to Parliament earlier this week, mango production in Tamil Nadu is estimated to have increased to 16.60 lakh tonnes in 2015-2016 as per advanced estimates. In 2014-15, production was 8.97 lakh tonnes, while in 2013-14 it was 7.85 lakh tonnes. The department filed the data based on information submitted by the States.
But farmers doubt the authenticity of the data. In the past two years, drought and rains have played havoc with the flowering and there is no possibility of production having doubled in one year, they said.
“Climate change is leading to heat waves and floods, and in the past two years, it has led to a fall in production of mangoes,” P. Shanmugam, State General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam (TNVS), told The Hindu. He said last year, farmers raised the issue of loss of production and protested against a drop in prices of mangoes. “Also, the area under production has not gone up,” he said.
T.N. Balamohan, Dean, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam, too said for production to double in a year, the plants should have been planted at least five years ago. “Most of this data might have been sourced from farmers. There are about 1.5 lakh hectares in the main mango production regions of the State such as Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Salem, Rajapalayam, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi,” he said.
According to Mr. Balamohan, if there is a price increase for mangoes, then the areas in which the crop is grown also increases in the corresponding year. He too points out the impact of global warming on production, as the flowering season which used to be from December to January, now extending till March.
