Chapters 8.37
8.37-Mango Value Addition for Indian Farmers
Emma Keesmaat , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Keesmaat,E. (2022) Mango Value Addition for Indian Farmers,In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org
Background
India produces the largest number of mangoes worldwide and has been growing them for over 4000 years (Ballen, 2017), though most mangoes are consumed locally – only 3% are exported (Feedipedia, 2017). India is the leading mango producer worldwide, but a third of the country’s mangoes cannot be sold due to postharvest damage (IDRC, 2017). As the growing season of mango is only about three months (IDRC, 2017), postharvest losses may affect farmers until the next year’s harvest. Through value addition projects, farmers would be able to make a larger profit from the existing harvest. This paper proposes two value addition ideas for mango farmers: making mango nectar/juice, and making powder from the mango seed. Both projects require relatively low levels of labor and materials, as the main deterrent for value addition projects is a lack of labor and machinery (FAO, 2016a). By selling diverse products and promoting the knowledge of nutritional benefits of mango, farmers would be able to increase their profits.
Value Addition
Mango drinks
An effective way for farmers to add value to their mangoes would be to turn it into a nectar or juice. Mango drinks are very easy to make and require few resources. After reading through many mango juice recipes, it is evident that only three ingredients are essential: mangoes, water and sugar or some sort of sweetener. Some of the recipes required the use of a stove to melt the water and sugar together and suggested a blender to soften the mango (Homemade Mango Nectar, 2018). Poverty rates in India have been dropping consistently since the 1990’s, and in 2016, 84% of the population had access to electricity (World Bank, 2018), however this does not guarantee that all farmers will have access to a blender or stove. In cases where electricity is not available, there are still many ways in which juice can be made. Mango flesh can be softened and squeezed out of the peel (Grandma’s Mango Juice In My Village, 2017), or cut up and then squished into a liquid state. All recipes followed a similar process: 1) cut up mangoes into smaller pieces (around 1 inch by 1 inch); 2) either blend mangoes or squish them by hand until they are close to a liquid consistency; 3) boil sugar and water together (skip this step if access to resources are limited); 4) add sugar or sweetener and water to mango paste; 5) stir until blended. Value could be further added by incorporating other fruits into the drink, for example orange-mango juice. Adding citrus juices to the mango drink lowers the pH and makes it thinner for easier drinking (FAO, 2003b). Selling out of a home stand or having access to a local market would likely be the best option in terms of sales, as the drink will not keep long and would need to be sold that day. Expenses would be minimal – containers or cups for the drink, a knife, something to mix the juice in and something to mash mangoes with would be the only tools necessary. All of these can be found on websites like Alibaba.com inexpensively (see below).
Mango powder
The seed of the mango makes up around 15% of the total weight (Chandru, 2014) – this is often discarded as waste when making mango products. By using the kernel inside of the mango seed, farmers could reduce their waste and create a highly nutritional powder. The kernel inside of the mango seed can be made into a powder for use in cooking/baking to increase nutritional value of the final product (Ashoush, 2011). The mango kernel contains many necessary nutrients. For every 100 g of kernel powder, there is: 7.53 g protein, 11.45 g fat, 368 mg potassium, 210 mg magnesium, 5.60 mg zinc, 12.40 mg iron, 2.20% crude fibre and more, though the accuracy of these amounts is inconclusive (Chandru, 2014). Incorporating this powder in cooking could help reduce nutrient deficiencies in areas that struggle with undernourishment. The percentage of stunting, wasting and undernourishment in children under 5 in India are all above 20%, with the stunting level at 41% in rural areas – 10% higher than urban areas (National Family Health Survey, 2017). Since the mango powder is full of nutrients and healthy fats, this would be a good product for households to add to any foods. The kernel contains high levels of starch (Yatnatti and Vijayalakshmi, 2018) that could also be useful in thickening soup broths. Making kernel powder is simple: 1) dry the kernels in an oven or in the sun; 2) grind the kernels into a powder [can be done with a mortar and pestle (Gituanja, 2012) or in some sort of mill/blender (Ashoush, 2011)]; 3) using a sieve, separate any big pieces from the powder; 4) package the powder. The powder could be kept for the family to eat or put in animal feed to improve their levels of nutrients as well (Morton, 1987). It could also be sold in local markets or out of a home stand. Depending on the amount of powder made, it may be most beneficial to sell instead of eat as it will not keep forever. Making powder requires more tools than juice – mortar and pestle or something to crush the pieces with, a sieve, an oven or a sterile surface that kernels can be dried on and left in the sun, and containers or bags to put the powder in. All of these can be found on websites such as Alibaba (see below).
Nutritional information as value addition
Another value addition idea for mangoes is the advertising of its nutritional benefits. Mango fruit contains high levels of antioxidants (Jiang, 2011), while the seed contains necessary nutrients such as fat, protein, fibre, magnesium and more (Chandru, 2014). If farmers are educated about the health benefits of mango, they could detail the benefits on small cards that would be sold with their products, especially in urban areas where there is more consumer income. In areas with vitamin deficiencies, the powder could be targeted to families struggling with malnourishment and help educate people on the benefits of mango. This would also allow farmers to have a specific sales market and could allow them to send their product to other markets or local stores, if transportation is available to do so. The only materials needed to advertise the health benefits would be attractive labels. Glass jars, pens and adhesive labels can be found on Indiamart.com – these are simple yet effective ways to make the product more visibly appealing. To do so, farmers would need a writing utensil and adhesive labels – they can then write or draw on the label, put the label directly on the bag or jar that they are selling, and market the product.
Critical Analysis
For both the juice and the powder, access to an oven and blender would be beneficial to speed up the process and reduce labor. In places where there is no access to electricity, more labor will be required to make the products at a commercial scale. If the farmer has no way to dry the seeds other than the sun, this will extend the period it takes to make the powder by days. Some seeds were dried for up to 3 days in the sunlight (Gituanja, 2012). This process can be prolonged by factors such as inconsistent sunlight , high humidity and fluctuation of weather conditions; these factors could result in complications or loss of seeds from outdoor damage (Arora, 2016). Neither of the products will keep for very long, specifically the juice – this could result in greater losses for the farmer if it is not sold as production costs may outweigh sales. The materials needed to effectively produce these products are available online inexpensively (see below), however, this could be a struggle for those with no access to electricity as the materials would need to be ordered through a third party.
How To Get Started
There are many videos online that show different, simple ways of making mango juice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoQLOY_3DOA How To Make Pure Mango Juice At Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYLs4rdHj3w Grandma’s Mango Juice In My Village
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeu-ebK50yU How to Make Fresh Mango Juice (Can use water instead of ice)
http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/grilln/Mango_Nectar.php Recipe for Mango Nectar (Gives good idea of ratios for mango, water and sugar)
Websites that have inexpensive products:
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/self-adhesive-label-15370624197.html Adhesive labels, can be written on and stuck to bags or jars that products are
being sold in. Found on Indiamart.com
https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/plastic-ball-pen.html Plastic ballpoint pens that can be used to make labels with. Found on Indiamart.com
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/mason-glass-jar-16440159588.html Glass jars for selling mango juice in. Found on Indiamart.com
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Manual-juicer-high-quality-eco-friendly_60542017571.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.1.68282d97GO8AGE Simple hand juicer on Alibaba.com
Small, biodegradable, waterproof bags that could be used for portioning and selling the powder, also on Alibaba.com
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/stainless-steel-wire-mesh-9098756773.html
A re-usable, mesh filter for filtering kernel powder. Found on Indiamart.com
References
1. Ashoush, I.S., Gadallah, M.G.E. (2011). Utilization of Mango Peels and Seed Kernels Powders as Sources of Phytochemicals in Biscuit. World Journal of Dairy & Food Sciences, 6, 35-42. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ihab_Ashoush/publication/258245419_Utilization_of_Mango_Peels_and_Seed_Kernels_Powders_as_Sources_of_Phytochemicals_in_Biscuit/links/0deec5279453f8da0b000000/Utilization-of-Mango-Peels-and-Seed-Kernels-Powders-as-Sources-of-Phytochemicals-in-Biscuit.pdf
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