Sarita Hegde, Chief Technical Officer of KVK, CPCRI, giving demonstration on how to make jam, jelly and squash from jackfruit at Perla near Vittla on Sunday. more-in Creating incubation centres for jackfruit is the need of the hour, said Shree Padre, executive editor, Adike Pathrike, a farm monthly, and a crusader for jackfruit and its value-added products, on Sunday. Speaking after inaugurating a jackfruit festival at Perla, near here, he said that there was also a need for setting up centres to train people in how to prepare value-added products of jackfruit. The business incubation centres to promote value-added products of jackfruit would boost the fruit to go global as the country produced jackfruit in huge quantities. Stating that jackfruit was a highly under researched fruit, he said that there was no research institute for jackfruit in the world. An international research institute has been set up for even breadfruit in Hawai but not jackfruit. Mr. Padre said that agriculture universities and Krishi Vignana Kendras (KVKs) have not taken the lead at the expected level to promote jackfruit and its value-added products by setting up training centres. If jackfruit has come to the limelight, it was due to the common man’s movement and not because of the efforts of the universities and KVKs, he said. He said that jackfruit was grown in the country in all States except in Jammu and Kashmir. It was available throughout the year in Kerala now. Hence, opportunities for making value-added products were plenty. The value addition now took place only in Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The senior journalist said that tender jackfruit had great demand in North India. “Tender jackfruit is a rich man’s food in North India. There is a passion for it there,” he said and added that supply of ready-to-cook tender jackfruit had demand in some cities too. He said that customised machines for making value-added products were required. It was particularly so for making happala or pappad. Countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia now had jackfruit orchards and were taking up the fruit cultivation as a mono crop, he said. Saritha Hegde, Chief Technical Officer, Krishi Vignana Kendra, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, demonstrated making jackfruit jam, jelly and squash. Jakfruit holige, jackfruit ice cream, antina unde made from jackfruit seed were among the value-added products that attracted visitors at the festival organised by different organisations. Shivaprasad Varmudi, an agriculturist, who has grown jackfruit as a mono crop on two acres, was felicitated.

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