Essentially the most awaited season every yr in numerous homes will be the mango season and every time I see the primary mango available in the market, my face invariably breaks into an enormous smile.
It’s the king of end result for a explanation why, isn’t it? Only a few moments evaluate to the happiness one reports whilst relishing a juicy mango, getting our arms and faces yellow within the procedure.
For me, and many of us from Maharashtra, the most productive mango is the Hapus or the Alphonso.
Grown majorly within the Konkan area, other types exist relying at the district, measurement and the flavor of the mango. Then again, mango purists declare so as to establish if it’s a real Hapus mango simply by touching or smelling it.
I personally were upset time and again to determine that the mango which I paid a top class for, used to be no longer truly an Alphonso.
Whilst the marketplace is stuffed with mangoes proper from February and March with many claiming to be promoting the Ratnagiri or Devgad Hapus, how does a buyer differentiate? How will we make sure that the mango that we’re paying an arm and leg for is in point of fact what it claims to be?
Regardless of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Thane and Raigad district receiving the GI (Geographical Indication) tag in 2018, the rampant adulteration in mangoes is affecting the hardworking farmers in addition to the purchasers.
Even among those mangoes, the Devgad selection sells for a top class, starting from Rs 1,000 to even a whopping Rs 3,500 in step with dozen!
Farmers from Devgad, which falls in Sindhudurg district, first attempted QR codes, bar codes and different strategies to make sure authenticity. When middlemen discovered a technique to tamper with those too, the Devgad Taluka Mango Grower’s Co-operative Society Restricted discovered a singular method to give protection to their mangoes.
This patented generation comes to a tamper-proof decal which can’t be replicated and guarantees entire transparency and traceability. Right here’s what it’s and the way it works.
What makes the Devgad Hapus distinctive
Shaped in 1987, the Devgad Taluka Mango Grower’s Co-operative Society has over 900 farmers, whilst all the taluka has 2,000 farmers. “It used to be first of all shaped to deliver small farmers in combination and lend a hand them take their produce to the marketplace without delay,” explains Omkar Sapre, the board member and consultant of the society.
“We began promoting on-line, particularly put up COVID-19, which allowed us to succeed in consumers without delay. Whilst you talk over with markets in Mumbai, you spot many of us promoting the Devgad selection. Both they combine less expensive types with the unique ones or simply upload stickers declaring that it’s from Devgad. To fight this, we implemented for a GI tag, which we won in 2018,” Omkar stocks with The Higher India.
A GI tag is supposed to give protection to the highbrow assets of the manufacturer, on this case, the farmer, and the native land, Devgad. It’s moreover intended to profit, implement high quality and save you adulteration.
“The decrease high quality mangoes that have been being bought underneath the title of Devgad Hapus affected the Devgad logo. We needed to determine the supply and high quality. We attempted barcode printing, safe to eat ink, magnetic patterns and several other different strategies. They have been all getting replicated by way of fakes,” he provides.
What one wishes to know is that the Devgad mango has a singular flavour because of the topography of the area.
“Devgad has onerous laterite rocks, which supplies the end result a perfect aroma. The prime altitude offers it its distinctive style,” explains Omkar.
Santosh Patkar, a farmer, states that what differentiates the Devgad selection from those present in Ratnagiri and different areas is its style, color, skinny pores and skin, and minimum fibre proportion. Talking in regards to the id disaster, he stocks that individuals are promoting faux Devgad mangoes even after their manufacturing is over for the yr.
“Persons are promoting mangoes from Karnataka and calling it Devgad Hapus. Outlets and on-line shops are duping other people whilst charging a bomb. Because of this, our fee and worth may be coming down,” he says.
The way it works
As discussed previous, the issue with QR codes or bar codes is that it may be copied. Prashant Yadav, an engineer and founding father of Solar Answers, evolved the patented generation.
Merely put, the original code of every product is split into two portions, one above the seal and one beneath it. To get entry to all the code, one must tear the decal, successfully preserving away counterfeits.
“My patent is for hiding the id of the original code. We divide every code into two portions, with one part hidden beneath the decal. There are two digits beneath the decal. Shoppers can take a photograph of the label and ship it the quantity discussed. You’ll then tear off the decal and ship the remainder two digits,” explains Prashant.
The instrument analyses the picture and confirms throughout the database whether or not the product is one among theirs or no longer. All the code is matched with the extra two digits despatched as a caption on WhatsApp.
Prashant won the patent in 2021 for the tamper preventive seal. It’s unmarried use and can also be authenticated by way of consumers via WhatsApp.
“This may lend a hand the logo fairness of the Devgad Hapus,” provides Omkar. “This may additionally lend a hand the following era proceed farming as they may be able to reap the end result in their labour.”
“We are hoping that individuals will get started recognising the actual Devgad Hapus and imagine the paintings that is going in the back of it. Our livelihoods are depending on it,” stocks Santosh.
The following time you purchase Devgad Alphonso, make sure you test the code!
You’ll order those mangoes from the cooperative right here.
Edited by way of Padmashree Pande, Photographs Courtesy Omkar Sapre