Bhubaneswar, June 19: Prashant Kumar Jaiswal's aim in life is to promote organic mangoes in the state.
His orchard in Rayagada spanning over 30 acres has more than 15 exotic varieties of the king of fruits that have been produced by solely using natural methods.
Thanks to Jaiswal's efforts, the non-local varieties such as Bombay Green, Jahangir, Himsagar and Langra are now available in the twin cities. His storeroom at Saheed Nagar is imbued with the smell of ripened mangoes fresh from the orchards.
Jaiswal's father set up the farm 15 years ago. "The plants took around eight years to bear fruits. Thereafter the production we had was consumed in the local markets of Rayagada. But, we wanted to promote the non-local organic varieties in other parts of the state as well," said Jaiswal.
It happened by chance last year. "A friend of mine from Cuttack visited our farm and brought some mangoes. He sold those in his area. We got a very good response. This year since February, I started getting calls when I would start providing them mangoes. Such a response boosted my confidence, and we decided to make them available in Bhubaneswar as well," he said.
A large part of his produce was booked in advance this year.
Despite not going to the market looking for customers, he has already garnered over 200 customers in the twin cities. He provides home delivery service to his clients in the nearby areas. His customers range from politicians, bureaucrats to businessmen and head of top restaurants in the city.
Jaiswal has no commercial aim behind endorsing the organic mango varieties, apart from cherishing his father's dream. "My father had travelled to various places across the country to collect mango saplings. He has worked very hard to establish the farm, feeding only manure made from rotten leaves to the trees. He always wanted to promote organic mangoes in the state, and I am just doing that," said Jaiswal.
He assures his customers that organic mangoes not only improve the tree's immunity against pests without using fertilisers or pesticides, but also are better for the one's health. Mangoes at the store are available at Rs 40 per kg.
"This year, we could only bring around six types of mangoes to the city as there is not much production. But from next year, we aim to provide all the varieties," said Jaiswal.
Once the mango season is over, he would come up with other seasonal fruits such as pineapple and orange.
"Our entire focus is on organic farming and these would also be produced using natural methods. It is financially beneficial and the output is also good," summed up Jaiswal.
