PANAJI: The humble jackfruit has emerged world over as a preferred meat substitute. Interestingly, this trend is working in favour of many farmers across the state.
Since 2016, after successful tests and trials by students, Goan farmers, with the help of a food processor, have successfully exported almost 200 tonne of the wonder fruit.
Students from Netherlands have been regularly visiting the Ramanata Crisna Pai Raikar Community College of Agriculture in Ponda since 2016, after the institution tied up with ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI), Goa and Netherlands-based HAS University.
“Merely selling raw produce is not enough since agri-products, per se, may not yield the desired price for farmers. However, if value-addition products are made, the gains can be multiplied,” said Manguirish Pai Raikar, chairman of the society that overlooks the college. “Currently, farmers are only able to get Rs 15 per kg of jackfruit which is not enough for a sustainable business. A fresh perspective is necessary to help them market the produce better.”
The Goa biodiversity board has started two centres – at Pali and Curchorem – where jackfruits are purchased from farmers. These are then processed into baking mix, chips and pickles.
With HAS University students tapping the potential of the jackfruit, Goa is hopeful to market the wonder fruit to Netherlands.
“The last time the students visited Goa was in 2019, prior to the pandemic. This year, the visits will resume. We are expecting a new batch to arrive in September,” Pai Raikar said.
Jackfruit in Goa was almost going to waste since farmers often have difficulty harvesting the fruit owing to labour costs and it would usually end up as cattle feed. A separate set of skilled labour is required to carefully pluck the gigantic fruit off a tree, tie it to a rope and descend it to the ground.