A few farmers at Miyapadavu village in Kerala's Kasargod district, which neighbours Mangalore, wasted around 1,000 jackfruits last year. Not this time.

Another bunch of farmers at Vittal in Dakshina Kannada district even shipped a truckload of jackfruit to Mumbai recently. This was unheard of of last year. Once a neglected crop, jackfruit is now being recognised by farmers and consumers alike for its utility.

Mr Shree Padre, the man who gave jackfruit some much-needed respect in society in the recent years, told Business Line that awareness about jackfruit has been a slow development, over the past one decade.

Dr D.C. Chowta, a progressive farmer from Kasaragod taluk of Kerala, told Business Line that a group of farmers at his Miyapadavu village has begun supplying raw jackfruit to makers of chips.

The edible parts removed from the whole fruit are being packed and marketed locally. “Now, we are getting queries from the nearby villages too ,” he said.

The processing of jackfruit is an art in patience as the gum latent in the whole fruit makes the process of removing its edible parts a bit tedious. That is the reason why ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook edible parts, as done by Miyapadavu villagers, are in great demand, he said.

Mr Venkatakrishna Sharma, a farmer from Vittal area of Dakshina Kannada, said that the recent despatch of jackfruit to Mumbai is a culmination of efforts of some like-minded farmers. These farmers met last year, and selected a few good varieties of jackfruit in the region. Some of these selected varieties were sent to Mumbai recently, he said.

Mr Padre said that the key is to utilise this “wonderful” food source properly. More and more jackfruit, that were allowed to rot earlier, are now reaching the dining table .

“Though farmers are getting income from this fruit, it is not adequate. I believe that the countdown for jackfruit development has begun,” he said.

>vinayakaj@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics