| 3rd Annual Konkan Fruit Fest, Goa - May 6-8, 2005 |
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| Today's Events include Mango Eating Competition, Fruit carving and |
| Cultural Programs. Check out http://konkanfruit.swiki.net | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Juicy, crunchy fruits and business - at Konkan fest
By Frederick Noronha, Indo-Asian News Service
Panaji, May 6 (IANS) Be it the juicy mango, the sour kokum or the Peruvian guava, a virtual cornucopia of fruits is on offer at a festival here showcasing products from Goa and three other western coastal states.
Farmers and green enthusiasts have been displaying their juicy, tingling wares at the third Konkan Fruit Festival, which was flagged off on the banks of the Mandovi river here by Governor S.C. Jamir Friday.
Goa has been a beneficiary of the early colonial skills of the Portuguese who encouraged the exchange of plants across continents centuries ago.
"It goes beyond just mangoes. It aims to bring on display fruits of exotic origins like the Central American zapota (popularly known as chickoo), the Brazilian cashew, the Peruvian guava, the Indonesian Java plum locally called the jamblum or jamun, and India's very own garcinia or kokum," organisers of the fruit fest announced.
Citrus fruits like the pomelo and sweet lime, jujubes or ber fruit, mangosteens and rambutans, jacks and lakoocha also added an exotic touch to the event.
The event covers the coastal strip called the Konkan across four states -- Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.
"The goal of the fruit fest is to create a hub for marketing all the fruits of the Konkan. Panaji is centrally located. It has rail and road connections. It is also close to the airport, with opportunities of export through charter and other international flights," says organiser Miguel Braganza.
"Moreover, Panaji has a ready market amongst foreign and domestic tourists that throng Goa's beachfront and heritage sites."
Universities from across coastal western India are bringing in their skills.
"Agricultural universities are located outside the cities. They lack a common platform to come across to people. Scientists talk a technical language, and often the government lacks specific projects for spreading such information," Braganza told IANS.
The event will continue till Sunday evening.
"Knowledge and positioning have to be added to give our fruits the edge," says Ajit Shirodkar, a former pharmaceutical entrepreneur now devoting his time to horticulture.
Goa-based Shirodkar, who has plantations across the Maharashtra border, exports to Britain his mangoes branded Aamraj (King Mango) for 10.25 pounds (Rs 850) per carton of 10-12 mangoes.
"Next year, we plan to export to the Netherlands and Germany."
Prakash G. Sawant from Kudal in neighbouring Maharashtra is showing equipment that allows growers to squash and press cashews or cut kokum, which otherwise affects the fingernails of those peeling the fruit.
Inacio Almeida, a septuagenarian priest known more for his green-fingers, who is also at the festival, says he is experimenting with jatropha plants, which some believe could play a crucial role as an alternative fuel.
Lumina Almeida of Salcete in south Goa has brought in anthuriums, a high-value decorative plant.
To organise this event, the local Botanical Society of Goa, a voluntary organisation of professionals, has roped in a number of government organisations, agricultural universitiess, fruit research stations and officials.
"Very few places have fruit festivals that include more than one fruit. In India it is generally a 'Mango Festival'. The Konkan Fruit Festival brings the so-called 'minor fruits' into limelight. Some of these have medicinal and other properties and may soon overtake the mango in importance," argues Braganza.
"Visitors will get a chance to see some fruit or varieties they've not seen before. We will have 10 students from the Carmel College, who are part of their plant-oriented Kalpavriksha Club, explaining the medicinal and nutritional value of fruits," says Braganza.
_____ _/ ____\____ Frederick Noronha (FN) * Freelance Journalist \ __\/ \ Goa India T +91.832.2409490 M +919822 122436 | | | | \ http://fn.swiki.net http://goabooks.swiki.net |__| |___| / http://www.bytesforall.net http://www.goanet.org \/
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