Konkan fruit festival is held in Goa, in Panaji during April. This festival is a celebration that brings to the limelight The lesser-known fruits of Konkan. The festival features local as well as exotic fruits of the Konkan belt and also has many fruit-based competitions.

Location

The Konkan Fruit festival is at Campal Promenade at Panaji. This festival is organized by the Botanical Society of Goa. Thus KFF – Konkan fruit festival is celebrated annually, to know more about fruits and produce and to create awareness about lesser-known fruits every year.

Reasons to celebrate

• The KFF was initially started by Miguel Braganza and his team in 2003.
  And the reason to celebrate this festival is to spread awareness about fruits.
• To connect farmers, government agencies, colleges, regional fruit boards, fruit sellers, manufacturers, wine makers etc.
  Preserve endangered fruit biodiversity.
  To propagate and celebrate regional fruits and their heritage and culture.

Activities to do

• The event has attracted many tourists, plant lovers, stakeholders and has sparked interest in the scientific community to encourage demand and supply of the local produce.
• Participation in various training programs such as demonstrations, workshops, exhibitions of plant diversity.
• Students can showcase their micro-greens and plantations skills and technology.
• Participation in competition, hikes and various fruit making product events such as wine, jams, syrups etc
• One can showcase their culinary art through cooking various fruit dishes.
• Exchange of ideas through various seminars by scientists and farmers.
• Stalls can be put by locals to introduce and promote their homemade products.

Cultural significance

This event has widely contributed to spreading awareness of the local fruits and vegetables. The cultural significance of this event is more due to the large area of plantations of local fruits such as mangoes, jackfruits, chickoo, cashews, Jamun, coconut, kokum etc. This festival helps the state biodiversity and farmers to gain knowledge and information regarding local fruits and improve their plantation techniques.

Thus increasing the local produce to grow more and gain financially good profits through the Konkan fruits festival. Goans believe that food is their cultural heritage and thus they preserve their treasure in every possible way. It also preserves endangered species like the jungle Jamun, gulabi jaam, Tambaram and chaferam.

Giving the entrepreneur new recognition and source of earning as their produce is there and export is common to national and international markets.

The locals got a platform to start cottage industry from their juicy fruits. Also has helped them during the pandemic situation. The microbiologist also contributes to the cottage industries later.

Thus agricultural sector has achieved huge progress along with the marketing of the local fruits.

Cuisines to enjoy

Konkan is famous for its food. The Konkan fruit festival offers a wide range of cuisines to taste. There are wine stalls, fruit stalls also some homemade kokum candies. One can’t miss the kokum sharbat. Nearby locals display their homemade products of juices, jams, wines and candies. The fest gives them a platform to display their culinary skills and also an opportunity to earn some money from it.

Overall the Konkan fruit festival is a great initiative to showcase the lesser-known fruits of Konkan. It spreads awareness and also preserves the endangered species of Konkan fruits. The Goans get an opportunity to celebrate their fruit festival and also sell some delicious local delicacies. One can’t miss the cashews, kokum and jackfruit of Konkan. The mangoes and the local jams. Thus this festival has cultural significance as well as helps in the fruit biodiversity of the region. This festival has boosted the financial status of the locals by providing them with a platform to display their fruits and produce from their backyards. The wines, nuts, jams, fruits are all a part of their culinary heritage and thus preserving them is essential for Goans.