Malkangiri: In the quiet village of Tamasa in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, a tribal farmer, Deba Padhiami, has made headlines by successfully harvesting the world-renowned Japanese Miyazaki mango. Known as one of the most expensive fruits on Earth, this exotic variety has transformed Padhiami’s farm into a major local attraction.
However, the luxury harvest has brought him both profound pride and intense anxiety.
Padhiami achieved the harvest after four years of meticulous patience and care. The journey began when local social worker Sarba Kumar Bisoyi brought a few exotic saplings from Bhubaneswar. Lacking the land to plant them himself, Bisoyi gifted them to Deba to grow in his orchard. Despite Malkangiri’s challenging climatic conditions, Deba’s dedication paid off this season, with the tree successfully bearing 17 massive mangoes.
In international luxury markets and auctions, premium-quality Miyazaki mangoes can command staggering prices ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to nearly ₹3 lakh per kg.
While the lucrative harvest sounds like a dream, it has evolved into a logistical nightmare for the farmer. Fearing that the valuable fruit might be stolen as they ripen, Deba has converted his orchard into a high-security zone. He has erected a sturdy bamboo fence around the tree to keep crowds at a distance and has been sleeping on a basic cot under the open sky for weeks to guard the orchard. “I have been guarding the orchard day and night. People come every day to see the mangoes, and I fear someone may steal them,” Deba shared anxiously.
Beyond the threat of thieves, Deba faces a fundamental bottleneck: he has no access to a luxury supply chain. “There are very few people here who can afford such expensive mangoes. I do not know where I will sell them,” he admitted.
Since India currently lacks an organised local marketing framework for this niche produce, Deba has little information regarding premium pricing, specialised packaging, and transport infrastructure to reach affluent buyers, premium hotels, or exporters. “I hope support from the horticulture and agriculture departments can help farmers like me secure better prices and promote the cultivation of high-value fruits like Miyazaki mangoes in Odisha,” he noted.
Echoing this sentiment, social worker Bisoyi emphasised that with proper government assistance in technical guidance, preservation, branding, and export-driven market linkages, cultivating high-value crops could serve as an alternative, transformative source of income for tribal farmers in historically marginalised regions like Malkangiri.
This comes as mangoes have put the state on global agricultural map through the rapid expansion of its premium fruit exports, which now include destinations like Rome, Venice, France, Belgium, and Dublin alongside established markets in Dubai and the United Kingdom. Only recently, a fresh batch of premium mangoes from Angul was sent to Italy. After successful shipments to Dubai and the UK, around two tonnes of Dhenkanal’s sweet and juicy Amrapali mangoes have now been exported to Germany.
(With inputs from PTI)
