Fig-ment of imagination pays off

Only a year ago, he was just one of the many fig growers in the state. Today, Ram Tekawade from Shrirampur in Ahmednagar district is probably the only grower processing figs and manufacturing jam in the state.

Coming from a progressive farmer’s family, Tekawade knew he had to do something different to sustain the family business. Till a few years ago, figs were grown only in Purandar taluka and some other places in the state. The weather in Ahmednagar district did not seem suitable.

Tekawade sought the help of Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) in Rahuri and started production. “When the production was ample in the state, we did not earn much as the rates went down in the market. We, therefore, thought of creating a by-product which can be sold throughout the year. We have jams of other fruits, but no one had experimented with figs. We made some samples of fig jam with the help of MPKV in 2008 and distributed it to customers,” said Tekawade.

They received a positive feedback and went ahead to set up standards for the product. They worked on suggestions from consumers and shopkeepers and finally launched the product this year through Yashparva Agro Processing Pvt Ltd set up by Tekawade.

Technical consultant of Yashparva, Sandeep Kedare, said no added flavours or colours are used in the product. “We strive to preserve the natural taste of fig so that people feel as if they are eating the pulp, rather than a by-product of the fruit,” he said.

Tekawade went to the Central Fruit Technological Research Institute, Mysore, to learn the technical know-how of manufacturing fig jam. He felt farmers should venture into processing and experiment with fruit by-products.

“There are institutes like MPKV to assist and farmers should benefit from it to sustain in agriculture,” he added.