Telangana Mango Farmers Scale Up Export Markets Through Organised Collective Approach

Hyderabad: Small and medium-scale mango cultivators in Telangana are increasingly accessing national and international markets by participating in collective marketing schemes backed by the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty.

The shift became evident when Balakrishna, a grower from Pebbair in Wanaparthy district, successfully shipped eight crates of Mallika mangoes overseas during the current season—a milestone that underscores how aggregation, quality grading, and structured logistics benefit smallholder farmers.

Be'nishan, a federation of Farmer Producer Organisations established under the Companies Act, 2013, played a pivotal role in facilitating this export. The organisation specialises in coordinating fruit and vegetable marketing while broadening market reach for Telangana's farming community.

Bridging Farmers and Buyers

Be'nishan has established connections between growers and both domestic and international purchasers. The federation has forged partnerships with major retail chains including Reliance, Flipkart, Big Basket, Metro Cash and Carry, Waycool, More, Prism, Scoops, Star Bazaar and Ratnadeep. It also collaborates with food processing firms such as Plant Lipids, Yellow and Greens, Suguna, Sneha, KJL and MARS.

Through mechanisms like Minimum Support Price (MSP), Price Support Fund (PSF) and Price Support Scheme (PSS) procurement, Be'nishan has generated cumulative business valued at ₹463 crore. Direct output marketing alone contributed ₹151 crore to this figure. Participating farmers have witnessed income gains of 15 to 20 percent under this model.

The procurement process operates efficiently, with officials completing transactions within two hours and disbursing payments within two days. This speed has significantly reduced the marketing burden traditionally faced by smallholders.

From Intermediaries to Direct Sales

Historically, small farmers struggled to secure direct contracts with large traders, as they lacked the volume to supply full truck-loads. This forced many to rely on middlemen, resulting in substantially lower returns.

Farmer Producer Companies operating under Be'nishan's umbrella have addressed this bottleneck by pooling produce from multiple cultivators. Veepanagandla FPC, for instance, spans five mandals and counts 370 shareholders. The company achieved annual turnover of ₹1.45 crore while diversifying beyond mangoes to include red chillies, custard apple, maize and red gram. During the recent mango season, the FPC created seasonal employment for approximately 450 workers.

Quality Standards and Scientific Methods

Be'nishan supplies grading and sorting equipment, refrigeration facilities, packaging infrastructure and logistics support to ensure produce meets export specifications. Rajitha Nared, Chief Operating Officer at SERP, emphasised the importance of quality: "The quality of the fruit is most important to get a better price. If mangoes release ooze, they get discoloured, reducing quality and price."

Farmers are being trained in scientific harvesting techniques, including stem cutting methods that extend shelf life and minimise disease. Post-harvest protocols such as desapping—which eliminates sticky latex before packing—are also being systematised. Each fruit undergoes careful hand-selection and processing to comply with export requirements.

Expanding Reach

The Be'nishan Federation currently comprises 84 Farmer Producer Organisations, spanning 65 Farmer Producer Companies and 19 cooperative FPOs. The network operates across 30 districts, 404 mandals and 3,072 villages, encompassing 6,967 Farmer Producer Groups and 1.09 lakh small and marginal farmers across Telangana.