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Want to save Alphonso mango from heatwave? Start with open data

The Maharashtra government must fund activities that can develop, certify, and rapidly multiply climate-resilient mango cultivars, along with other agricultural products.

We may look forward to the mango season with delight and anticipation. Yet, the mood is sombre among Alphonso farmers. A recent report suggests that Alphonso production in Sindhudurg is down 85-90 per cent this season. Production is down in Ratnagiri by roughly 70 per cent, and in Raigad, by 60 per cent.

The farmers are haggling with the Maharashtra government over compensation amounts, and may reach a compromise at some point. But the Alphonso crisis represents the proverbial canary in the climate-change coal mine, with estimates suggesting that climate change could shave 3-10 per cent off GDP by the end of the century. This requires a serious policy response on climate adaptation.

Each cultivar—a plant variety bred to hold on to specific traits each time it is grown—has a climate contract. It demands certain conditions to flourish. The Alphonso mango needs 300 hours of direct sunlight in October to trigger flowering, colder conditions for flowering and fruiting, and subtropical or tropical climates, with optimal temperatures between 24 and 30 degrees Celsius, for the fruits to mature. Every farming year has fluctuations: a hot February, a late monsoon, or a stray hailstorm. The relevant question is whether the current changes are just fluctuations around a stable mean, or whether the underlying process itself has shifted.........

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