Training programme on minimal processing of jackfruit and its marketing

BHUBANESWAR: Central Horticultural Experiment Station, Bhubaneswar organised a one day ‘training programme on minimal processing of tender jackfruit and its marketing’ under Tribal Sub plan on Monday at CHES-IIHR, Bhubaneswar, for the skill augmentation on minimal processing, product preparation and marketing of tender jackfruit. Twenty two tribal farmers including jackfruit entrepreneurs belonging to the self help groups and jackfruit commodity interest group from selected villages of Mohna block participated in the hands-on training programme.

During the inaugural session Dr. P. Srinivas, Sr. Scientist, welcomed the gathering and briefly described the efforts taken by the Station in standardising the minimal processing technology for tender jackfruit by integrating various steps like selection of fruits, mechanical peeling, pre-treatment for restricting browning, packing for marketing, and transportation, etc. During the inaugural session founder of ARVI innovations Dr. Natabar Rout, who specialises in production and marketing of mushrooms and representatives of vegetable marketing organisation VegiKart, Mr. Sushant and Mr Malkhan, shared their business models and assured to include the raw jackfruit received from Mohna block in their marketing chains. Inaugurating the training programme, Head of the Station Dr. H.S. Singh appreciated the dedication of the tribal women who are involved in the processing the tender jackfruit for vegetable purpose on commercial scale in their region. While highlighting the importance and commercial potential of processed raw jackfruits in urban areas he motivated the small entrepreneurs from villages to interact with the vegetable marketing agencies in nearby townships to realise higher prices for their produce. Dr. Deepa Samant, Scientist proposed the vote of thanks at the end of the session. During the training session, all the participants took turns in peeling the jackfruits, cutting, processing and packing the cut pieces. The farmer representatives were also taken to the malls and different vegetable markets where they interacted with the market representatives for future supply and marketing of their produce. The training programme was coordinated by Dr. P. Srinivas, Senior Scientist, CHES, Bhubaneswar under TSP.