BENGALURU: Former prime minister and Rajya Sabha member HD Deve Gowda urged Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan to establish a national board for nutritionally rich fruit crops like tamarind, jackfruit and jamun.
In his letter to the Union Minister, the former PM said that tamarind, jackfruit and jamun are organically grown, require low rainfall and are cultivated at relatively low cost. Gowda stated that despite large-scale production and harvesting every year, a significant portion of the fruits remains unharvested and underutilized due to difficulty in harvesting, lack of assured buyers, inadequate processing facilities and limited access to cold storage centres for growers across the country.
The fruits and their by-products enjoy high demand in domestic and export markets, including demand from pharmaceutical industries and create large employment opportunities in rural areas.
The former PM proposed that a pilot model may initially be established in two or three states, which could later be replicated across the country in a second phase. As per the proposal, an initial budget of Rs 3,000 crore per annum for a period of three years has been suggested, with minimal additional staff to oversee effective implementation.