Exotic and novel food items: Growing across nations and continents

Source: The post is based on the article “Growing across nations and continents” published in the Business Standard on 28^th November 2022.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Agriculture

Relevance: About exotic and novel food items.

News: The cultivation of exotic and novel fruits and vegetables is expanding in India at a fast pace.

What are some common exotic and novel food items consumed in India?

The most common among them are fruits like avocado, kiwi and dragon fruit; vegetables like Brussels sprouts, zucchini, asparagus, coloured cabbages and capsicums, baby corn, and cherry tomato; and salads like lettuce, broccoli, celery and parsley.

There are also some unique edible items that have traditionally been collected from the wild and consumed primarily by the locals but are now commercially grown by enterprising farmers. These include the likes of Japani Phal (Persimmon), Ambarella (Indian hog plum), Jangli Jalebi or Kodukkapuli (Camachile), Karonda (Carandas cherry), and Buddha’s hand (Fingered citron).

Top producers: Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have emerged as the major producers of exotic and novel food items within India. Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana are the other key producers.

Why there is an increase in the intake of exotic and novel food items?

a) Increased awareness of the need to eat diversified food, b) Impact of the pandemic increased the need for nutritious and immunity-boosting foods. For instance, the import of exotic fruit items has almost doubled in just one year, from about 3.6 lakh tonnes in 2020 to a record 7.21 lakh tonnes in 2021, c) Increased cultivation: According to agriculture ministry estimates, exotic fruits were grown in 2021-22 in over 2.8 million hectares. The area under such crops was almost negligible in the early 2000s.

All these made exotic and novel food items to be readily available in fruit and vegetable shops in even tier-II and tier-III cities.

Why there is an increase in the domestic cultivation of exotic and novel food items?

Farmers replaced traditional crops like sugarcane, grapes, soybean, and vegetables with dragon fruit because it requires less water and cash inputs but fetches higher prices in the market.

Many farmers in Kerala have begun to diversify their farming from traditional crops to butternut squash (introduced from Central America), Gac fruit from Vietnam, and Loquat from China. As they provide much more remunerative than conventional crops.

How India is promoting exotic and novel food items?

Integrated Horticulture Development Mission: Under this, the government promotes several novel fruits, such as kiwi, avocado, passion fruit, blueberry, dragon fruit, figs, mangosteen, persimmon, rambutans and strawberry.

A University in Himachal Pradesh has developed high-yielding technology suitable for growing products like avocado, kiwi, and hazelnut in northern hilly areas.

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute has been promoting the technology for growing non-native plants under controlled environmental conditions in poly-houses.

What are the concerns associated with exotic and novel food items?

Despite domestic cultivation, 80-85% of the demand for these products is still met through import. So, a) India’s highly diverse agro-climatic conditions in different regions should be effectively utilised for cultivation of exotic and novel food items, b) Farmers need to include high-value exotic fruits and vegetables in their cropping patterns to get good returns.