Mango farmers set up own websites, rake in moolah

Farhan Gheta | NT
Bengaluru

With the mango season drawing to a close, farmers who grow the famed Srinivasapura variety in Kolar district are counting on the innumerable advantages of turning to online merchandise.

A major chunk of mango farmers in Srinivasapura, which lies 100 km north-east of Bengaluru, launched their own websites this year to reach out customers in different parts of the world. And they reaped huge benefits.

The farmers, in fact, took a leaf out of the state government’s online mango merchandise that was launched during the time of the pandemic. Bhaskar Reddy, who owns kolarmangoes.com, said he launched the website because of the government’s go-slow approach. “Mango season begins in March, but the state government’s online sale begins only in May,” he said.

Farmers in Srinivasapura normally start harvest in March. “We have the stock in March. Demand is also huge during that time. We realised that an independent website will give us continuity in business throughout the mango season,” he said.

Reddy said independent websites make it easier to conduct business, reduce delivery time and establish direct link between customers and buyers. Asif, who owns Bharath Mangoes (bharath-tradersfruit- wholesaler.business. site/) said he set up the website on his own a couple of years ago.

“Over 30 percent of my business now comes online. Bharath Mangoes is equipped to deliver mangoes all over the country, including Andaman,” he said. Yashwant, a software engineer in Bangalore, who set up the website for Kolar Mangoes said online transactions are good for farmers as they could avoid middlemen. “Since a website puts them in direct contact with their customers, there is more room for profit,” he said.