Food security has become a major issue of survival for mankind. In recent past, Kerala had abundance of native food crops such as cereals, fruits, tubers and vegetables. Ubiquitous jackfruit played a major role in ensuring vital food, particularly for the vulnerable sections. However in recent times the usage of Jackfruit has come down. The prime task of good governance, particularly local governance, is promoting food security with locally abundant but underutilised products like jackfruit which has tremendous potential in aiding food security.
In this context CISSA in association with other organizations organized the National Jack Fruit Fest, 2011, with the motto ‘Jack fruit key to local food security’ during 4-6 June at Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram. This was followed by the State Jackfruit Festival in May, 2012 at Kozhikode. The festival was aimed at popularizing the nutritional content of Jackfruits and its role in food security by promoting its consumption in various popular recipes’ thereby welcoming more entrepreneurs to come forward in manufacturing and marketing of Jackfruit products.
As a result of these programmes, a Jackfruit Promotion Council was formed at State level to plan and coordinate promotional activities in this sector.
