Jackfruit curry has always been hugely popular in Sri Lanka. But now it is more popular than it has ever been because of a ‘minimal processing' revolution that has swept the island. “Earlier, most homes would make jackfruit curry only during weekends. Thanks to minimal processing, now we make it twice or thrice a week,” says Dr Subha Heenkenda, a senior officer in the department of agriculture in Sri Lanka.
Minimal processing makes jackfruit ready to cook. The result is that consumption has shot up to five tonnes of tender jackfruit and 10 tonnes of the unripe variety in a day.
Sri Lanka now has more than 200 minimal processing units offering ready-to-cook polos (tender jackfruit) and kos (mature jackfruit).
Polos curry, of course, is like a signature recipe of Sri Lanka. It is available in most of the hotels and restaurants. In tinned form, it is exported to many countries.
Many people here in India still don't know that jackfruit is a versatile vegetable too. As a vegetable, it has four stages – tender, slightly grown, mature unripe and ripe. Sri Lanka has a tradition of using it not only as a vegetable, but as staple, in place of rice. The Sinhala name for the jackfruit tree – Baat Gasa – means ‘tree of rice'.
Sri Lanka stands first in the world in consuming jackfruit as a vegetable. According to Dr Heenkenda, the country consumes about 25 to 30 per cent of its tender jackfruits as vegetable. This is a very positive step towards local food security. Probably no other country in the world matches this.
Minimal processing involves light preparatory operations like washing, trimming, peeling, slicing or chopping. The jackfruit becomes more consumer friendly, but remains close to its natural form.
The main problem with jackfruit is that it is big and difficult to consume in its entirety. It is also difficult to cut and separate the edible portion.
Ready-to-cook jackfruit always used to sell on the roadside in Sri Lanka. But eight years ago, the agriculture department saw an opportunity in making the ready to cook variety available on a large scale through organized minimal processing.
Recalls senior research officer, Senarath Ekanayake, “We saw fresh cut vegetables getting popular in US markets. Then we thought, why can't we make jackfruit also available in ready form.”
The food research unit started a series of training programmes. But initially this didn't make much impact. It used radio and articles in newspapers and magazines to popularize the idea. “We did on-the-spot demonstrations at exhibitions too,” recalls Ekanayake.
But as with any other new technologies, it required catching hold of a few interested people and ‘hand-holding' them for some time. It didn't take long for Sri Lankans to realize the employment and income generation potential of this simple process. Seeing the success of the pioneers, many others joined in.
Today, points out Dr Sarananda Hewage, head of the food research unit: “Kandy has 13 units doing minimal processing with jackfruit. There are 30 in Colombo.”
With Colombo and Kandy leading the way, minimal processing has spread to other towns and urban centres. It has made it possible to earn more from jackfruit.
On roadsides, a 250 gm pack of tender jackfruit packet will be priced around 30 to 40 Sri Lankan Rupees. In super markets and shops, the price is slightly higher.
Small household enterprises abound, which is good but also a problem if standards of hygiene are not maintained
The investment is very small. “They require a few buckets, two good stainless-steel knives and a small sealing machine,” points out Ekanayake. Most of them are units run by families.
Interestingly, half of these entrepreneurs are farmers themselves. Previously they weren't getting mentionworthy returns for their jackfruit. Now, with minimal processing, they are making in a day what they did during a season.
Lesson for India: “A machine can be used for cutting jackfruit to make the task easier,” says Dr Christin P. Robert, programme coordinator of CARD Krishi Vijnan Kendra, Pathnamthitta, Kerala. “The Sri Lankan model of minimal processing has tremendous scope for us in India. Take the case of a producer state like our Kerala. Though we have ample jackfruit production, we have considerable number of towns, cities and office-going women. People like jackfruit but don't always have the time to cut and cook it.”
From Kerala, a huge quantity of tender jackfruit is sent to the northern Indian states. In jack season, every day, trucks carry about 400 tonnes of tender jack go from Kerala to north India. In states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it is cut and sold in vegetable shops for Rs 30 a kilo.
Sri Lanka's success has great lessons for India. So far our efforts to provide jackfruit – both as a vegetable and a table fruit – in a consumer friendly form are next to nothing. Agriculture universities and research stations would do well to make minimal processing a priority.
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