India has done well to expand food production and build up adequate safety stocks of food grains. For over 70 percent of rural Indian households, agriculture, including livestock, still remains the principal source of livelihood. With a six-fold increase in food grain production from 50 million tonnes in 1950-51 to nearly 300 million tonnes in 2019-20, India has become a net food exporter, being the ninth largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. The share of agriculture and allied sectors in the total Gross Value Added of the Economy have improved to 20.2 per cent in the year 2020-21 and 18.8 per cent in 2021-22. The Indian economy is an agro-economy and depends highly on the agricultural sector. Despite just supporting the Indian Economy, the agricultural sector also supports the industrial sector and international trade in imports and exports. Although the contribution of the Agricultural Sector to the Indian Economy is reducing, it is the sector with the most number of people working in it around the country. Adequate nutrition is a basic human need. Only if people can satisfy their nutritional requirements on a regular basis, and use and utilize adequate and safe food with the respective energy, protein, vitamin and mineral content, is one of the most important pre-condition for an active, healthy and decent life. For nutritional security we need recent days, farm diversification and crop diversification. There are many not so recognized food plants those are nutritionally rich, among those Carambola is one. Carambola, also known as star fruit. The edible fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides. When cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, giving it the name of star fruit.The entire fruit is edible, usually raw, and may be cooked or made into relishes, preserves, garnish, and juices. Carambola fruits contain oxalic acid and the neurotoxin caramboxin. Consuming large quantities of the fruit, especially for individuals with some types of kidney disease, can result in serious adverse health effects. The center of diversity and the original range of Averrhoa carambola is tropical Southeast Asia. It was introduced to the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka by Austronesian traders. They are grown as ornamentals. Carambola is considered to be at risk of becoming an invasive species in many world regions. The showy fruits have a thin, waxy pericarp, orange-yellow skin, and crisp, yellow flesh with juice when ripe. Each fruit can have 10 to 12 flat light brown seeds about 5–15 mm (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) in width and enclosed in gelatinous aril. Once removed from the fruit, they lose viability within a few days. Carambola is known by many names across its regions of cultivation, including kamranga (Kamaranga) in Bengali (India and Bangladesh). The entire fruit is edible, including the slightly waxy skin. The flesh is crunchy, firm, and extremely juicy. It does not contain fibers and has a texture similar in consistency to that of grapes. Carambolas are best consumed shortly after they ripen when they are yellow with a light shade of green, or just after all traces of green have disappeared. Ripe carambolas may also be used in cooking. The juice from carambolas is also used in iced drinks, particularly the juice of the sour varieties. Carambolas contain caramboxin and oxalic acid. Both substances are harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure, kidney stones, or those under kidney dialysis treatment. Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, mental confusion, and sometimes death. Caramboxin is a neurotoxin. Major pests are carambola fruit flies, fruit moths, ants, and birds. Crops are also susceptible to frost. Top producers of carambola in the world market include Australia, Guyana, India, Israel, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States. The trees are also grown as ornamentals for their abundant brightly colored and unusually shaped fruits, as well as for their attractive dark green leaves and their lavender to pink flowers. Knowing the importance of this star fruit crop, the extension agencies who are working at grass-root level, they must include this crop in their knowledge and extension activities to educate and aware the farmers which will ultimately reflect the total agricultural food production and that will support food security and nutritional security to countrymen.
