Dotted on the sides of national highways 66 and 63, which cross the coastal town of Ankola in Uttara Kannada district, are small piles of ‘Kari Ishad’, a mango variety that grows exclusively in coastal Karnataka, particularly in Ankola taluk.
A delight for both mango growers and buyers, the national highways have turned out to be unlikely marketing hotspots, and business is only growing year by year.
More than 300 farmers, including Halakki women, sit along these highways to sell Kari Ishad every day. Tourists and general passersby take great interest in these mangoes.
Before Covid, boxes of Kari Ishad were sent to Hubballi, Bengaluru, Goa, Maharashtra and many other places. Mango growers and vendors would also go door to door to sell the fruit.
"Our family has been in the mango business for five decades. We had to keep fruits in a basket and carry them over our heads and then walk many kilometres every day," says Somi Gowda, a mango vendor in Handigadde.
During the pandemic, middlemen stopped placing orders and selling products door to door had also become difficult. The pandemic had put a damper on sales in the last two years.
Selling Kari Ishad on highways soon emerged as an alternative. "We have to travel about 30 km to reach the market in Ankola. Because of the rise in fuel prices, we don’t even get harvesting expenditures," says Bommayya Harikantra, a resident of Makkigadde, Ankola.
This year farmers have been able to cope with the loss and make a bit of profit.
The making of a market
"Many have stopped buying mangoes in bulk after Covid. Now, we don’t have the energy to go door to door. Instead of that, we sit near the highway with mango baskets," says Namitha Hillur, a mango grower-cum-vendor from Kolagi.
The first few baskets of ‘Kari Ishad’ came to market in the first week of May. Then, a dozen retailed for Rs 1,400. Now, they cost around Rs 200 to Rs 600.
Tourists from Goa and Maharashtra are the major buyers. "We don’t know their language to explain the taste. So, we just give them a sample and after tasting it they buy from us," adds Namitha.
One such gathering, where tens of women sell mangoes, is under the Konkan Railway bridge in Handigadde, Belase. This area transforms into a mango market during the season.
"We have been selling mangoes here for the past five years. We manage to sell around 15 to 20 dozen per day. In this way, we are spreading the sweetness of Kari Ishad to other parts of the country," says Namitha.
After seeing the business in the region, fruit vendors from Ankola town too have shown interest in displaying their baskets filled with other fresh fruits here.
Underrated variety
In Ankola taluk alone, about 600 acres of land is used to cultivate the Kari Ishad mango variety. A majority of these fields are within an acre and there are a few medium-scale (4-5 acres) mango fields in the taluk.
Villagers grow mango trees in their backyards. They are actually small farms with an area of three to five guntas where paddy, groundnuts, watermelon and vegetables are also grown. These small farms don't need much care. So, they opt for organic methods in cultivation and ripen the fruits.
During the mango season, farmers would gain some extra income by selling the fruit in nearby markets. Now, highways have become the new market area as tourists generally buy a few dozen mangoes.
Even though the variety sells well on highways, it is not known outside of Uttara Kannada. A two-day mango mela organised in May by Ankola's Kari Ishad growers saw participation from other parts of the state as well.
"After we organised the mango mela, we saw many posts come up on social media. I have sent 200 Ishad mangoes to Bengaluru upon request," says Advocate Nagaraj Nayak.
"The Kari Ishad is not even found in the neighbouring districts' markets like Udupi and Mangaluru," adds Nayak. Farmers and vendors emphasise that there is a need to market and brand the mango variety in a proper way.
Adding to farmers' woes is the short life span of ripened Kari Ishad mango.
With no facilities to preserve or process the crop, farmers suffer huge losses. This, they say, is another major reason why they sit near highways and sell their pickings as soon as possible.