Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) has embarked on recruiting 300 farmers to promote the commercial growth of indigenous fruits including jack-fruit, guavas, gooseberries, and pawpaw.

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Speaking after paying a courtesy call to Busia County Agriculture Executive Dr Moses Osia in his office on Wednesday, KALRO Research Assistant Vincent Ochieng said Busia County is the leading in jack-fruit production in the country but had not been harnessed."We are partnering with USAID through Feed the Future programme to promote the growth of over 100 species of indigenous fruits which have been ignored and yet they can be turned into commercial production," Ochieng' said."Jack-fruit is a case in point. The value addition derived from it includes jam, antibiotics, wine, ethanol, and multivitamin. The fruit can also be grown for commercial purposes like in neighboring Uganda," he added.Ochieng said they have 15,000 seedlings of jack-fruit, 100,000 of guavas and 10,000 of pawpaw ready to be distributed to farmers, adding that Busia has a conducive climate for the growth of most fruits.He said KARLO and USAID have identified three clusters with each cluster recruiting 100 farmers.Cluster one has Teso North and Teso South, cluster two Nambale and Matayos while cluster three will encompass Samia and Butula sub-counties.Dr Osia urged farmers to take advantage of the programme to grow jack-fruit in large quantities saying apart from making profits from their sale the plant helps conserve the environment."Jack-fruit has also 100 uses including making a person not grow old. Who knows Busia might have a factory for processing jack-fruit in the near future if farmers will embrace the growth," he said.The exact origin of jack-fruit is unknown although it is believed to be indigenous to the rainforests of the Western Ghats of India, dating back to 3,000 to 6,000 years ago.