(a) whether the Government has any plans/schemes to promote jackfruit farming in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of jackfruit export for the past three years;
(d) the details of the countries regularly demanding jackfruit/jackfruit products;
(e) whether any research is in progress about the nutritional value of jackfruits; and
(f) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to promote jackfruit farming in the country?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
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(a) & (b): Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) provides assistance for holistic development of horticulture crops, including jackfruit. This includes support for production of quality planting material, area expansion, organic farming, promotion of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), creation of infrastructure for Post Harvest Management (PHM), processing and marketing.
(c) & (d): As per information received from Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), there is no separate HS Code for Jackfruit as per DGCIS data, hence export data for Jackfruit is not centrally maintained.
(e) & (f): Jackfruit has been included as one of the mandated crop under All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Tropical Fruits with major emphasis on collection, conservation and utilization of the diversity along with survey for pests and diseases of jackfruit.
Contd…2/-
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The Rural Bio resource complex project funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, was implemented by the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru, in the Tubagerehobli of Doddaballapur Taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, from April 2005 onwards. This project encouraged growers to maximize farmers’ profits.
During 2010 to 2015, many jackfruit melas were also organized in different parts of the country, especially in south India. In the past decade, about seventy five jackfruit festivals have been conducted in Kerala and Karnataka, two in Tamil Nadu and one each in Maharashtra, Mizoram.
Encouraged by the demand, UAS Bengaluru organized a national seminar on jackfruit in 2010 and an International Symposium on Jackfruit and Breadfruit of the Tropics, in 2014.
A multi-institutional DBT-UAS, Bengaluru collaborative project titled “A value chain on jackfruit and its value added products” has been operationalised at UAS, Bengaluru.
First National Consultation Meeting was organized by ICAR and KAU at Trichur in June, 2013 to take forward work on jackfruit with regard to its potential as fruit, vegetable and timber.
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