Mango Harvesting

The story of the nation's favourite sweet is anything but.

India, the top global mango producer and consumer (50% of production), faces high investment risks due to weather impact. Harvesting poses dangers for workers, engaging in tasks without protective gear for minimal pay.

Social Share

The workers travel around the farm in a tractor, spraying the plants along the way.

Usually have no protective gear such as goggles, masks, or gloves, so they are in danger of pesticide affecting their skin and going inside their lungs or eyes for about 8 hours continuously. Over the long term, these can cause severe health problems, including heart problems and breathing difficulties.

Labourers harvest these juice variety mangoes by cutting them with a stick, which makes them drop to the ground. The mangoes that are ripe split open and are discarded, but the unripened ones are taken and used.

Some trees grow upto 40 feet in height, and labourers have to climb them to pluck the mangoes. People of all ages, from teenagers to people in their sixties, climb these trees, and there is a risk of falling from the tree and injuring oneself, sometimes even resulting in death.

Problem Statement:

How might we ensure that there are affordable and sufficient tools for farm maintenance and harvest?