Mangaluru: In an effort to transform an often-overlooked fruit into a viable source of income, a group of like-minded farmers, scientists and agri-enthusiasts are working to unlock the commercial potential of cashew apples through value addition and grassroots innovation.The initiative, titled ‘Cashew Apple to Market’, is led by Shree Padre, researcher and editor of Adike Patrike, a Kannada agricultural magazine. The aim of the campaign is to turn the highly perishable and largely discarded cashew apple into a viable source of income for farmers, Shree Padre told TOI. As part of this movement, an active WhatsApp group, Cashew Apple Value Addition (CAVA), where around 45 members, including scientists from the directorate of Cashew Research (DCR), Puttur, Kerala Agricultural University and the Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Cashew Research Station under Kerala Agriculture University and a few Brazilian members, exchange ideas, experiments and feedback. While technologies for processing cashew apples have been developed at research labs for several years, Shree Padre notes that many products have not yet reached the wider public.Shree Padre said around 25 farmers recently experimented with cashew apple juice, a natural drink believed to have nutritional and medicinal properties. In Uttara Kannada’s Yellapur taluk, farmer Nagaraj Bhat is among those who recently tried preparing the juice. “Without removing the astringency, it is not drinkable. We did not know a easy method earlier. Now, we plan to make it regularly,” he said.Shree Padre points to a resort in Jhargram, West Bengal, where cashew apple juice has been served as a welcome drink for the past three years. The resort owner, Debabrata Ghosh, has been actively promoting it in a region known for cashew cultivation.One of the key challenges in popularising the juice has been its natural astringency, caused by tannins. However, simple techniques are now being widely shared. According to the Plantation Corporation of Kerala, adding a small quantity of sago (sabudana) paste or rice gruel to the juice helps settle the tannins within minutes.Entrepreneurs are already seizing the opportunity. Thippeswamy, a retired engineer and organic farmer from Chitradurga, has conducted at least five trials and now prepares and sells the juice locally. Encouraged by positive public response, he has even invested in equipment to scale up production.Cashew apple juice could emerge as a refreshing, low-cost health drink in summers. Shree Padre said that greater involvement from cooperatives and corporates could accelerate its reach, potentially transforming what was once treated as a byproduct into a profitable enterprise.
