Two-day jackfruit festival gets underway in Mysuru
The two-day jackfruit festival which got underway in the city on Saturday has over 30 varieties of fruits for display and sale, and was described as possessing potential to shore up farmers income.
Organised by Sahaja Samrudha and Rotary Club of Mysore West, the jackfruit festival was inaugurated by Sugarcane Farmers Cultivators Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry.
Mr. Shanthakumar batted for greater jackfruit cultivation and called for its popularisation among farmers so that the fruit could be a secondary source of income.
He said the characteristic feature of the crop was such that it can be cultivated even in areas where agriculture takes place under rain-fed conditions besides being adaptable to changing climatic conditions and vagaries of nature.
Mr. Shanthakumar said it was imperative to identify good quality jackfruit varieties and encourage their cultivation in Mysuru besides making provision for their value addition. “Farmers producers company and women’s self-help groups should be encouraged to provide value addition and take up their marketing to benefit the farmers,” he added.
The government should also stimulate demand and provide marketing facilities for mass cultivation and sale of jackgruit and value-added markets, said Mr. Shanthakumar.
Natural farmer Kailashmurthy said the demand for jackfruit has witnessed a perceptible increase and even those who despised it for being sticky or held erroneous notion that it can cause stomach upset, are singing paeans to the fruit, he added.
G. Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samrudha said that jackfruit has the potential to withstand water stress and is a boon to the farmers as it can provide economic security. The festival was being held to popularise the fruit besides create greater public awareness of the culinary possibilities of jackfruit, said Mr. Krishnaprasad.
The mela has different varieties of jackfruit including Rudrakshi, Nagachandra, Lalbagh, Madhura, Chandra, Ambali, Hasalu, etc., while saplings of Siddu and Shankar varieties were also put up for sale.
The response on the first day of the mela was encouraging and there was a demand for red-coloured Chandra variety of the fruit cultivated in Chikkanayakanahalli. Apart from the fruit, valued added products like ice creams, holige, vade, dose, palya, chocolate were for sale and in demand. The jackfruit mela also provided a platform for display and sale of millets and seeds of local varieties of paddy.
There will be a painting contest for children in the age group of five to 12 years from 10.30 a.m. on jackfruit followed by a cooking contest at 12.30 p.m. of jackfruit-based dishes and a jackfruit eating contest at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
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