Organic Farming – providing organic fertilizers
Fertilizers play a crucial role in increasing global food production and ensuring food security. There is growing concern about the usage of chemical fertilizers which results in groundwater pollution and soil degradation. ABC Fruits have been providing organic fertilizers to farmers free of cost to create a sustainable environment. Mango waste products that include mango peel and fibre are the most effective organic fertilizers. The mango peels and fibre add nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil that improves the plant’s growth. This also reduces the fertiliser expenditure to farmers and protects the soil from hazardous chemical fertilizers.
ABC Fruits has trained agronomists who coordinate with the farmers and recommend various solutions to increase the production and well-being of crops. We also focus on soil management by suggesting and supplying organic fertilisers to farmers to maximize crop production. Our teams are involved in conducting various research and developing methods to improve soil quality and crop production. We educate farmers about the importance of organic farming and encourage them to use organic fertilizers for better productivity.
Rainforest Alliance
The main objective of the rainforest alliance is to create a sustainable world by conserving the environment, practising sustainable farming methods, and improving the livelihood of the farmers by monitoring the timely and right wages. The rainforest certification provides better crops, adapts to climate change, reduces costs and enhances output. The Rainforest Alliance also addressed other issues such as forced labour, poor working conditions, gender inequality and low wages. ABC fruits will be associated with the rainforest alliance certification to make sure we contribute to the environment and society.
Sustainable farming practices
We educate and suggest sustainable farming practices to farmers regularly. We promote farmers to switch from conventional to organic farming with new strategies and techniques.
We educate farmers about crop burning, crop rotation, agroforestry, reduced tillage, Integrated Farming Systems (IFS), High-Density Planting (HDP), Reducing pesticide usage, Rainwater harvesting and various ways to create a sustainable environment. Burned lands may reduce soil fertility and pollute the environment. We suggest no-burn alternatives that reduce farmers’ money on fertilizer usage. We encourage farmers to store rainwater by forming small pits that store rainwater that increases the groundwater level.
Better working conditions and wages
While small-scale farmers depend on community labour, good wages and working conditions Our team identifies the labour issues and educates farmers about the minimum wages and wages approved by the government to make sure they are paid with the current market wages. We also ensure our farmers use protective equipment and safety measures. A proper living wage remuneration enables the farmer to maintain a respectable standard of living that includes housing, education, health care, transportation and other necessities, as well as a reserve for unforeseen circumstances.
Fairtrade farmer association
There are more than 1500 varieties of mango cultivated In India. Thanks to fair trade, that represents a better feature for the thousands of farmers and their families. Many small-scale farmers depend on the production, processing and sale of fruit. The tropical fruits are grown mostly in developing countries, where fairtrade supports small-scale farmers. Fairtrade certification is available for fresh fruits, dried fruits, and juices as well as for puree and concentrates.
ABC fruits have an association with the farmers to procure fresh fruits at a fair price to benefit the farmers. Fairtrade offers good working conditions, and better prices, and creates sustainable value for farmers. Farmers create an association for a fair trade policy. We have a tie-up with the association to procure from them. ABC Fruits procures fruits from farmers at Rs1/kg higher than the market price to ensure farmers’ benefit. With no middlemen involved, farmers get the right price for their products and fair trade encourages farmers for new plantations.
Training on the high-density plantation
We train farmers on high-density plantations which double the crop yield. In 1 acre of the traditional plantation, farmers can generate 2-3 tonnes per acre. At the same time, High-density plantations yield up to 6 tonnes. However, maintaining a traditional farm is less compared to high-density plantations. Considering the overall output and in monetary terms, the high-density plantation is more profitable than traditional plantations.
In traditional plantations, the space between the mango trees is considered 10 square meters. We recommend and train farmers to reduce the space to 5 square meters which can accommodate 160 plants per acre. The traditional plantation needs no human intervention and grows naturally. High-density plantations need proper coaching and guidance from the agronomists from the plant.
Monitoring pesticide spraying cycles
The process of flowering is a vital activity in the mango trees since it is directly proportional to productivity. The flowering of mango trees happens at cooler temperatures especially from December to March with bright sunshine. Once the flowering occurs, it takes 100-150 days for flowers to turn into fruits. The mango flowers attract sucking pests due to their sweet content. Powdery mildew is a common disease and anthracnose is another serious that affects fruit leaves and flowers. The first spray cycle is carried out during the flowering stage. The second spraying cycle is done after the fruit development stage. Our agronomist keeps monitoring the spraying cycles and suggests various techniques to protect the crop from pesticide attacks. We suggest and recommend farmers use organic pesticides which are harmless compared to synthetic pesticides. Our team also monitors the pest attacks regularly and recommends the farmer cut particular branches to avoid pests spreading across the trees.
Supporting the farmer network
Implementing drip irrigation to conserve water
We are promoting a drip irrigation system to farmers which helps in huge water savings and give high consistent quality yields. The better productivity of mango depends on the rain or irrigation during the fruit development and tree growth. The drip irrigation supplies water directly to the root of the tree or plant with the help of a pipe. The drip irrigation system is extremely beneficial in the water shortage area.
Our team has been conducting meetings with farmers and educating them about the advantages of the drip irrigation system. There are many types of irrigation systems related to the root systems, fruit bud differentiation, fruit set, quality and size. We analyze and suggest which is the best type of irrigation for them to have a better yield.
Contract farming for mango and tomato
Contract farming increases the export potential of small-scale farmers and improves the social and economic conditions of the mango and tomato farmers. ABC Fruits have been in contract farming with mango and tomato farmers. This helps small-scale farmers to gain knowledge on negotiating power and post-harvest facilities. Additionally, contract farming would strengthen the relationship between marginal farmers and agro-processing industries like ABC fruits.
There are pros and cons of contract farming. However, contract farming enables farmers to establish prices in advance. This mitigates the risk for farmers. Contract farming with ABC Fruits helps small-scale farmers to learn new skills and implement new techniques. Contract farming also opens up new markets which benefit small-scale farmers.
Helping farmers to improve yield and quality
We help farmers to improve the productivity and quality of fruits by implementing various strategies. We associate with farmers and work on soil preparation, sowing, manuring, weeding, drip irrigation, harvesting, storage and processing. We suggest farmers do pruning, which is cutting down crowded branches. This helps in ventilation, sunlight for the better colour of the fruit, and access to spraying organic pesticides. This improves the productivity and quality of the fruit. Our team of agronomists visit farmers once a month to guide farmers and improve the yield and quality.