Wayanad gearing up for international jackfest

A six-day international Workshop on production, value addition and marketing of jackfruit will be held at the Regional Agricultural Research Station in the district from August 9.
Renowned jackpromoters and experts will take part in the event, a releasefrom the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) said.
The workshop is a joint venture of the KAU, the state government's Ministry forAgriculture Development and Farmers Welfare, NationalHorticulture Board, State Horticulture Mission, Vegetable andFruit Promotion Council of Keralam, District Legal ServicesAuthority and ISSAAS (International Society for South EastAsian Agricultural Sciences) along with all National andInternational organizations working for the promotion ofjackfruit, as partners.
"Wayanad with its rich collection of jackfruit varietiesand diverse tree forms has been selected as the venue since itis an ideal backdrop for the conduct of such a workshop," KAUVice-Chancellor P Rajendran said in a release.

"Jackfruit has enormous potential but its possibilitiesare stuck in bottlenecks due to lack of network and marketingopportunities. The international event, with participation ofexperts from different countries will help formulation of potential value addition, processing and marketing avenues,"he added.