JEYPORE: Jackfruit, hailed as a miracle crop and the jack of all culinary trades, is all set to light up the lives of hundreds of tribal women in Koraput district.
With the fruit, grown in abundance in the region, finding an attractive market in Delhi, the women are now engaged in making packaged chips to be sold in the National Capital.
They are earning Rs 150 per kg of jackfruit chips that are supplied to Delhi through Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS).
During jackfruit season this year, ORMAS and Koraput District Rural Development Agency coordinated with the Forest department to collect the fruits and preserve them.
Around 500 tribal women were then trained in processing of the fruit and making chips from it. As the consignments have left Koraput for Delhi, the women from Sarispadar, Kellar and Doliamba villages have found a sustainable source of income.
Koraput district produces large quantities of jackfruit every year but due to lack of market linkage, it is sold at meagre Rs 5 to Rs 10 per piece in local markets against the potential to fetch Rs 300 per piece outside.
While only 10 per cent jackfruit is consumed locally, the bulk is exported to neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra markets by middlemen and traders.
Assistant Project Director of ORMAS, Koraput, R Karthik said the jackfruit chips prepared by the tribal women have received great response in New Delhi markets. The society has prepared a plan to cover more areas and include more tribal women in the project in coming days.
“We are not only helping women to prepare chips from jackfruit but also organising exhibitions to help them sell the products. We are also aiming to export the novel product outside the country by adhering to the international food quality standards,” he added.