Gazipur Entrepreneur Turns Jackfruit into Biscuits to Reduce Waste
An entrepreneur in Gazipur's Sreepur upazila has initiated a process to make biscuits using jackfruit to combat seasonal crop waste. Experts note that processing the fruit into food products can boost farmers' profits.
An innovative initiative has been launched in Gazipur to process jackfruit into food products, addressing a significant issue of seasonal agricultural waste. Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan, an entrepreneur based in Vairagirachala village within the Sreepur municipality of Gazipur, has officially started the process of making biscuits utilizing jackfruit. This local effort comes at a crucial time when substantial quantities of the fruit are harvested across the region annually, yet large portions often go to waste during peak seasons.
According to the available data for the region, jackfruit cultivation spans a massive area in Gazipur. The total land dedicated to jackfruit production across the district exceeds 9,100 hectares. Within this wider agricultural landscape, Sreepur upazila alone accounts for a major share of the cultivation, producing the fruit across more than 3,500 hectares of land.
Despite this high volume of production, local agricultural stakeholders have long highlighted the problem of post-harvest loss. Nazrul Islam, commenting on the seasonal reality, stated that thousands of takas worth of jackfruit rot in orchards every season due to a lack of preservation facilities. He emphasized that if jackfruit is processed to create various food products, the market value of the farmers' produce will increase and the cultivators will ultimately benefit.
Echoing these concerns, Dr. Golam Ferdous Chowdhury pointed out the systemic nature of the issue. He noted that while the country produces a vast amount of jackfruit every year, a large portion is wasted annually. Therefore, he stressed that there is no alternative to making various types of food products from jackfruit in order to reduce this ongoing waste.
In alignment with these commercial and nutritional goals, institutional research is already underway to support the sector. The Post Harvest Technology Division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has already invented more than 20 technologies and materials based on jackfruit. These scientific advancements aim to provide practical methods for preservation and processing, helping entrepreneurs like Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan transform surplus crops into marketable goods like biscuits with the support of entities such as Momtahina Food and Oil Mills and Steadfast Courier.
