KALPETTA: Once dismissed as ‘patti pazham’ (dog fruit) in Wayanad’s backyards, avocado is now re-emerging in new avatars — oil, pulp, smoothies, and even tea. Farmers in the hill district, hit by a steep price crash, are betting on value-added products to rescue their crop and carve out premium markets.
The Wayanad Hills Farmer Producer Company Limited (WHFPCL), in collaboration with the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD), Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), is spearheading the initiative to launch more than a dozen avocado-based innovations.
“For the rest of Kerala, avocado might be considered an elite food. But here in Wayanad, we used to call it dog fruit. Not because it lacked value, but because we didn’t know its value,” WHFPCL chairman Sunil Kumar M R told TNIE.
“Almost every household has at least one tree. With proper training, farmers can earn a good income from this fruit.”
Just last year, a kilogram of premium avocados fetched up to Rs 340, with exports averaging 2,000 tonnes annually. Farmers expanded cultivation. Ambalavayal even crowned itself “Avocado City” with a festival celebrating the fruit.
But this season, prices have slumped to Rs 60 to Rs 70 a kg, forcing growers to look beyond the raw market.
“We are not getting enough support from state or central governments to promote the fruit internationally. So farmers here, along with RARS, decided to brand Wayanadan avocado. Now, almost every shop in Kerala stocks it, and we export it to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. But our aim is the global market. We believe value-added products can take us there,” Sunil Kumar said.
The avocado’s journey in Wayanad goes back 75 years, when the British introduced four varieties. One of the original trees still stands on the RARS campus.
“Wayanad has the potential to compete globally,” said RARS associate director C K Yamini Varma.
“But a lack of professionalism in selecting planting materials, unscientific harvesting by plucking immature fruits, and poor packaging and marketing stand in the way.”
To counter these hurdles, WHFPCL and RARS have rolled out training programmes on scientific harvesting, packaging, and branding. July’s avocado fest in Ambalavayal drew about 500 farmers.
“The main harvest season is June to August, when farmers typically earn Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. But some varieties bear fruit in February and March, fetching up to Rs 50,000 from a single tree. Since the crop requires little care, farmers are content with modest returns. But many continue with unscientific harvesting and packaging practices that lower quality. We are now conducting training and awareness classes to change that,” Sunil Kumar added.
As Wayanad’s ‘dog fruit’ transforms into a gourmet offering, the district’s farmers are learning that survival lies not just in cultivation but in innovation as well.
