Agriculture scientists here on Sunday called upon farmers cultivate varieties of jackfruits and adopt techniques to generate income by adding value to the produce.
Senior scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru; Agriculture College in Hassan, and officers of the Forest Department spoke on the need to diversify products at the jackfruit mela organised by the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Trust at Anuganalu in Hassan taluk.
Great demand
L. Manjunath, Dean of Agriculture College at Karekere, who inaugurated the mela, said that jackfruit had great demand. Farmers should understand the value of the crop and preserve varieties of high demand for future generations. Research institutes including the Agriculture College would help the farmers generate income by growing jackfruit trees, he said.
Ganesh S. Bhat, Deputy Conservator of Forests, said the Forest Department had been providing saplings of different varieties at Re. 1 to Rs. 3 to encourage farmers to plant them in their land. The farmers would also get a support price up to Rs. 45 per tree for three years. “In coastal areas, people have been making money by marketing jackfruit chips. Similarly, in other places, farmers should take up income generating activities,” he said.
S. Shyamalamma, scientist from Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra in Bengaluru, said the university had conducted jackfruit mela in areas near Doddaballapur to collect data about different varieties of jackfruits.
Data on genotype
“This time the mela has been organised in Hassan so that data of locally available genotypes of jackfruit are collected. More than 30 farmers have participated in the mela with jackfruit grown on their land,” she said.
H.P. Mohan, honorary wildlife warden; and Malali Gowda, founder of BCRT, were present. Hundreds of farmers and environmentalists from different parts of Hassan participated and tasted different varieties of jackfruits in the event.
