HYDERABAD, April 21: Agricultural specialist M. H. Panhwar has said there are many mango varieties other than Sindhri that can successfully meet export challenges of the world market and earn a foreign exchange for the country. He was speaking at a seminar on “mango culture and rejuvenation” organized by the Hyderabad district government in collaboration with the M. H. Panhwar Trust at the Mumtaz Mirza Auditorium here on Tuesday.

Mr Panhwar said 17 varieties of mango were available in his farm and interested growers could get the varieties on their demand.

“Our mango has more scope for export in the world market but unfortunately growers are not able to avail themselves of this opportunity. They are not adopting scientific cultivation, harvesting, grading, packing and transport methodology to export their products”, he observed.

He said food safety was a global issue and, therefore, awareness regarding production in agricultural and food industry was necessary. He said without certification from the World Standard Agricultural Body, an individual or organization could not enter the world market.

He said to compete in the world market, the growers of Sindh would have to change their old pattern of cultivation, especially for which had great demand.

Mr Panhwar said besides lack of quality management system, the Export Promotion Bureau was also responsible for less export of fruit produce because of its apathy.

He said he had learned that the EPB management was closing its centres in Hyderabad and other cities of interior of Sindh which would badly affect the export of mango.

He said instead of growers, commission agents were earning maximum profit as they had all marketing facilities made available to them by the government.

Condemning the role of managers (Kamdars) in agro management, Mr Panhwar said farmers could not become prosperous till they got rid of the managers. He said the managers had always played a negative role in agro cultivation and were even allegedly involved in kidnapping of landlords.

He said getting a high per acre yield was another problem because at present mango orchards in Sindh were being badly affected by a new disease – verticillum wilt. He said ‘sungicide’ fumigation was needed to control the disease.

He said enough written material was available on fruit products and he himself had written 33 books but could not get them published without support of the government. He said with growers’ access to this informative material, cultivation patron of Sindh could be modernized.

Mr Panhwar said if scientific methodology was adopted in planting and tutelage, mango trees could live up to 100 years and give yield of more than 10 tons per acre as compared to the present production of 2.5 to 3 tons per acre.