Online edition of Sunday Observer

The National Jak Development Project (NJDP), initiated by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) is conducting an instant jak recipe contest under the Silumina Janasetha programme. Prizes to the value of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 15,000 are on offer for the three best entries.

The next planting season will begin in September. Jak-fruit saplings about 2 1/2 - 4 months old are sought from the public. Individuals and organisations interested in supplying Jak-fruit saplings are requested to contact the Secretary, NJDP, Sarath Amarakoon, Chief Administrative Officer ANCL - 429201 or Co-ordinating Secretary NJDP, Nihal Abeysinghe - 429268 or write to National Jak Development Project, C/o Silumina, Lake House, Colombo 10. This project is sponsored by Sevana Lotteries division of Sri Lanka Lotteries Board.

More information on NJDP could be obtained from the website http://www.geocites.com/heraliyainasia/index.html

Relishing the taste of the ‘processed’ jak-fruit... Senanayake introducing his products to the guests at a jak planting ceremony of the National Jak Development Project.

"The cost for dehydrating one kilo of jak-fruit is about Rs. 150 to Rs. 200. The same could be sold in Australia and the Middle Eastern countries for over Rs. 1,000. The demand however, far exceeds the supply of these kinds of food." W. Senanayake of Bemmulla is obviously not happy about the food processing industry, when it comes to jak-fruit. "It is a good foreign currency earning opportunity for Sri Lanka. It needs more acceptance and encouragement from the banks and lending institutions", he points out.

A businessman who had been engaged in the 'copra' trade, he applied the "same techniques to dehydrate jak-fruit, retaining its colour, taste and nutrients." Most of the time, the dehydration process is carried out under high temperature and pressure conditions. However, this takes the colour, taste and nutrients out of the processed jak-fruit, he explains. The low temperature and low pressure method he employs on dehydrating jak-fruit retains those characteristics. Other kinds of food he had experimented on and sells in the market are bread-fruit, mushrooms, bitter gourd and different kinds of green leaves.

Shelf life of these products under normal conditions range from 6 months and above. Submerged in cold water, these will re-hydrate the product close to its natural status in less than 30 minutes. Forty grams of dried jak-fruit will give out about 300 grams when re-hydrated. W. Senanayake, is an industrialist engaged in the business of processing jak-fruit using dehydration under low temperature and pressure conditions.

His experience and expertise in working in the capacity of a Technical Engineer in Germany had also helped him in the business. He involved himself in the food processing field when the copra business crashed due to the import of palm oil and related products."

Senanayake, proud of his products

"Copra was what I was used to. However, I wanted a way out and was looking for alternatives when I realised that I could use a similar method to process jak-fruit and other traditional food items", he beams. Senanayake sees much demand for dehydrated jak-fruit in the UK and in Arab countries and talks about a sizable order he had received recently. He sees the potential jak-fruits and the capacity of food processing itself as money earners - through his own experience.

"How much of these traditional food items are rotting and wasted in our villages", he asks and add processing these foods would bring us a lot of revenue. It would be a good income earner for the villagers. It could either be developed as a cottage industry or as a small industry."

In his opinion, jak-fruit processing has the potential of becoming a thriving industry even by catering to the local market needs.

The busy housewives and career women in the city prefer purchasing a product which is cleaned, cut and ready to cook, rather than going through the laborious process of cutting and cleaning a whole jak-fruit.

However, Senanayake says that the initiative should come from an authoritative source such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Economic Development or Trade which should also be supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We should not forget the potential of the jak-fruit, which goes waste under trees in the villages, to feed thousands, to bring some money to the households as well as to open up employment opportunities for the villagers", says Senanayake. He also stresses the need for recognition of the field by financial institutions and the need for making funds available for the development of the industry, by way of credit. - (VF) (Source: 'A new method of jak-fruit processing' by Nihal P. Abeysinghe, Silumina, July 14, 2002.)