Farmers taste sweet success with exotic fruits

Karnataka's farmers are bringing exotic and local fruits, that were once limited to backyards, farm borders and terraces, to their fields. In the last three years, there has been a 25 per cent increase in the cultivation area of 12 fruits like avocado, dragon fruit, jackfruit, tamarind, jamun, passion fruit, rambutan and mangosteen.

Their popularity is driven by market demand, their ability to survive extreme weather events and relatively less maintenance.

"Dragon fruit requires 80 per cent less water compared to grapes, which is traditionally grown in this part. Maintenance is almost the same," says Narayana Swamy of Chikkaballapur, a pioneering dragon fruit farmer. He switched from grapes to multiple crops including dragon fruit and avocado.

The shift is reflected in the greater demand for plants. For instance, over four lakh planting material (seedlings and saplings) of avocado was produced last year. Accordingly, now there are around 200 nurseries producing exclusively avocado plants.

"The surge in demand of plants from growers has resulted in inferior quality planting material being sold. Growers should be cautious while buying seedlings," says G Karunakaran, scientist (fruit science), Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR). The institute has been encouraging and supporting farmers to grow exotic and local fruits by providing planting material, technology know-how and value-addition support.

"Now, the area under exotic and local crops is less. So, farmers get good prices. One should be mindful of the market demand while expanding any crop. Having multiple crops is always good," he says.

Karunakaran has observed that people are shifting away from management-intensive crops such as grapes and pomegranate.

K S Ashok Kumar in Doddaballapur has converted his 40-acre grape farm into jackfruit orchard. "Water, management and the unique variety of jackfruit grown in this belt are the reasons for this shift. I have both fruit and vegetable varieties of jackfruit," he says. "Water-intensive crops are not suitable for this region where groundwater is below 1,500 feet," he adds.

M Jagadeesh, joint director, horticulture department, says that unseasonal rains and drought conditions have made farmers opt for dryland horticulture over the past decade. "People are moving towards perennial crops as a way of mitigating climate change. The shift can be seen across Karnataka except the coastal belt. These are high-value crops and are known for their medicinal properties. They are also opting for a combination of crops to ensure regular income," he says.

M B Venkatesh, a farmer in Hoskote taluk who has converted his grape farm into a dragon fruit farm, is getting 80 per cent more income from dragon fruit than grapes. "Now, the market price is good. During Covid-19, people seem to have become more health-conscious. However, this year itself I have sold over 2,000 saplings. Going by this trend, soon there will be a glut in the market," he says.

To address the issue, around 200 farmers from across the state are in the process of forming a Karnataka exotic and minor fruit producer company. The focus will be on processing and value-addition of these perishable fruits.