Monthly income of 7 lakhs; Varikka Chakka sent to world cup made Vargese an exporter

Kochi: When the organizers of the World Cup held in Qatar one and a half months ago insisted that the football players should eat jackfruit from a specific farm only, Varghese, a farmer from Thrissur, became an exporter. At present, Varghese Tarakan, a native of Thrissur's Amala Nagar, is shipping 1500 kg of Varika jackfruit through his exporting firm in Kozhikode. Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, France, UK, and so many countries want jackfruit grown in Varghese's garden. Varghese also delivers jackfruit to banquets at the Brazilian embassy in Delhi.

Varghese Tharakan of Thrissur, who had given up rubber cultivation and planted only jackfruit trees on 13.5 acres, was giving away jackfruits to the locals for free. Still, those who visit the plantation will be given jackfruit to eat. The 'honey varikka' variety 'Ayur Jack', which has great taste and quality, and yields 365 days, is leading the export. The fruits which are beginning to get ripe are packed and sent via air.

Varghese's water conservation technique, where rainwater is not run off and is directed down sloping land, is a subject of study in Water Management Engineering at IIT Roorkee. In 2018, he received the Shony Mitra award from the state government and the Water Sustainability award from the United Nations.

Wife: Adv. Sandhya Varghese. Children: Varsha and Varun.

60 types of jackfruits

Cultivation is on 8.5 acres at two places in Kurumalkunnu and 5 acres in Neerkolimuk. The tree never grows above seven feet and always bears fruit. 60 types of trees have been cultivated, including an unnamed giant jackfruit weighing 72 kg and jackfruit which does not rot for 20 days after ripening.

Grown for cancer patients

Varghese, who lives near Amala Hospital, started farming when doctors told him that they needed jackfruits for cancer patients. Jackfruit is given to patients because it is gluten-free and still given to cancer patients for free.