Phalada Agro Research Foundations (PARF) Pvt Ltd, a collective of organic farmers started by C M N Shastry in 1991, exported a consignment of 10.20 metric ton (MT) of value-added products of organically certified gluten-free jackfruit powder and retort-packed jackfruit cubes to Germany.
According to PARF Founder and Chairman C M N Shastry the products were processed at the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) assisted packhouse owned by the company.
“We sourced jackfruit from organic farmers in various parts of Karnataka and processed at our packhouse as per international standards. Our farmers have gone through the certification process as per National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), European Union and National Organic Programme (the United States) standards,” said C M N Shastry.
APEDA registered PARF started its journey in 1991 andd represents a group of 1500 farmers with a wide coverage of around 12,000 acres farms. These farmers grow Medicinal and aromatic herbs, coconut, jackfruit, mango puree products, spices and Coffee.
Under the NPOP, organic products are grown under a system of agriculture without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with an environmentally and socially responsible approach. This method of farming works at grassroot level preserving the reproductive and regenerative capacity of the soil, good plant nutrition, and sound soil management, produces nutritious food rich in vitality which has resistance to diseases.
APEDAis currently implementing the NPOP, which involves the accreditation of certification bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing etc.
In 2020-21, India produced around 3.49 million tonnes of certified organic products which include all varieties of food products namely oil seeds, sugarcane, cereals, millets, cotton, pulses, aromatic &medicinal plants, tea, coffee, fruits, spices, dry fruits, vegetables, processed foods etc.
Madhya Pradesh has covered the largest area under organic certification followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh. In 2020-21, the total volume of organic products export was 8.88 lakh metric tonne and the export realization was around Rs 7,078 crores (1040 million USD).
India is going ahead with its plans to export organic products to various countries. Recently, a shipment of 1.2 metric tonne (MT) of fresh jackfruit was exported from Tripura to London. Jackfruits were sourced from the Tripura based Krishi Sanyoga Agro Producer Company Ltd.
The consignment was packed at APEDA assisted pack-house facility of Salt Range Supply Chain Solution Ltd and exported by Kiega EXIM Pvt Ltd. This was the first APEDA assisted packhouse for exports to European Union, which was approved in May 2021.
