Three-day organic mango and jackfruit mela at Lalbagh
'The objective of this mela is to create awareness among the residents of Bengaluru about organic food and provide a good market to more than 1.5 lakh farmers who practise organic farming in the State. If the organic produce gets more demand, then more farmers will be encouraged to practise it. This will be good for the environment and will provide pure food the the public,' said Shamla Iqbal, principal secretary, Horticulture Department after inaugurating the mela.
Miyazaki mango, Red Ivory mango, Banana mango and seedless jackfruit are some of the major attractions at the mela. Rangaswamy C, founder of Annapurneshwari Nursery in Shivamogga is the first to grow Miyazaki mangoes in the state and aims to introduce the fruit to the market through the event. The mela also showcases rare heritage mangoes right from Tipu Sultan's, Bada Bagh (300 year old garden).
More than 85 varieties of mangoes and 60 varieties of jackfruit are available at the mela. The fruits are sourced from Hubballi, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru and Tumakuru districts.
Ms. Iqbal also noted that Jaivik Krishik Society has been successful in converting around 10,000 hectares into organic farming despite it proving to be hard to convince the farmers. She stated that the plan is to increase it to 30,000 hectares by next year.
The mela will conclude on May 25.
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