MP: NABARD to hold mango festival on Jun 10 to showcase produce of tribal farmers

The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will organize its 5th state-level mango festival here on June 10 to showcase the produce of tribal farmers, an official said on Wednesday.

During the festival, beneficiary tribal farmers of the NABARD's WADI program will sell their mangoes with the help of farmers' producer's organizations (FPOs) and NGOs.

The NABARD has implemented the WADI project to encourage tribal farmers to adopt horticulture, agriculture, and farm forestry activities to boost their income in their native places and to prevent their migration, the official said.

"WADI is a flagship project for tribal farmers and families. Through this project, tribal farmers can enhance their family income by adopting various horticulture, agriculture, and farm forestry activities at their native places, which helps in preventing their migration," the official said.

At least 75,176 tribal families have benefitted from the WADI project, he said.

Different varieties of mangoes are produced in Madhya Pradesh by tribal farmers and to provide a platform to these cultivators, the NABARD has been organizing a mango festival every year at its regional office at Bhopal since 2018, the official said.

Several varieties of mango produced in Madhya Pradesh, such as Kesar, Langra, Dashahari, Amrapali, etc. will be sold at the festival, he added.