Public will be allowed to harvest jackfruit in forest reserves

By Ifham Nizam

The Department of Forest Conservation yesterday commenced issuing of free licences to the public to harvest jakfruit in its reserves on a directive given by Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

A Department official said that the yield from jackfruit trees in protected lands belonging to the Forest Department had increased this year.

The Forest Department revealed the new licence scheme during discussion with the Minister at the Department.

Amaraweera said that there were about 3,000 hectares of Forest lands countrywide. Officials at the Department said that jacfruit was cultivated in all these lands and the ripened produce of those trees usually decated.

The Minister said that during a food crisis like now, it would be a crime to let go waste nutritious food such as jackfruit and breadfruit. Hence the public should be given the opportunity to harvest jakfruit in the forests..

People were afraid of entering protected areas because it was illegal to do so. Therefore, the Minister instructed the Forest Department to initiate a programme to issue permits to enter the forest reserves free of charge only for the harvesting of jak fruit.

According to available information, the annual jackfruit harvest in Sri Lanka is about 280 million, but only about 80 million are consumed.