Prime Minister Narendra Modi has featured avocado toast in his latest social media reel, titled 'Indian avocados are clearly getting more popular!', highlighting how the fruit has moved from being a relatively unfamiliar, largely imported food to appearing on dining tables, supermarket shelves and restaurant menus across the country. According to reports from NDTV Profit, Modi had first spoken about avocados during the 137th episode of his monthly radio programme on August 30, noting that the fruit was once little known in India but is now increasingly being consumed. "The avocado fruit is creating quite a buzz these days. Hardly anyone knew about this fruit in the past; both its value and demand were low, but today it is frequently seen on dining tables," PM Modi said during the radio programme. The reel demonstrates how a once-unfamiliar fruit is becoming part of India's food culture while creating new possibilities for domestic agriculture.
In his latest Mann Ki Baat address on Sunday, Modi specifically highlighted innovative farming practices where farmers in Chikkamagaluru are intercropping avocados with coffee and black pepper, allowing them to generate an additional source of income without disrupting their existing cultivation. As reported by NDTV Profit, this approach demonstrates how farmers are adapting traditional coffee plantations to include avocado cultivation, creating multiple revenue streams from the same land. Modi noted that "the crop was proving beneficial for farmers" and emphasized how this innovative practice is helping them tap into the fruit's rising popularity. The intercropping model allows farmers to experiment with new crops while maintaining their traditional income sources.
Modi's reel highlighted how changing consumer demand is opening up new opportunities for Indian farmers across multiple states. According to NDTV Profit, he shared the example of Karpa Varadaraj from Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh, who began cultivating avocados after seeing the crop on a friend's farm and learning more about it through YouTube. Varadaraj now produces around four tonnes of avocados and supplies them directly to local shops. The Prime Minister also pointed to Chandrashekharan from Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, who began growing avocados on half a hectare of land and has been getting good prices for the crop. Modi specifically praised the intercropping innovation, stating "We often hear about avocado toast in city restaurants, but through this very avocado, our innovative farmers have discovered a new recipe for earning."
Modi noted that the growing demand for Indian avocados is benefiting both consumers and farmers, as locally grown avocados can add to dishes such as avocado toast while also helping increase farmers' incomes. As reported by NDTV Profit, the Prime Minister remarked that "The avocado from our own country has enhanced the taste of your toast while simultaneously boosting the farmers' income." The reel demonstrates how a once-unfamiliar fruit is becoming part of India's food culture while creating new possibilities for domestic agriculture, with the innovative intercropping practices in Chikkamagaluru showcasing how changing consumer preferences are driving agricultural innovation and economic opportunities across multiple states. Recent commercial Hass avocado harvests by Harrisons Malayalam have also drawn attention to the possibility of growing different avocado varieties domestically.
