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CFTRI and Palakkad Coconut Producer Co ink tech transfer MoU for neera
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Tuesday, 30 September, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d The Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, has inked a memoradum of understanding (MoU) for the transfer of technology for neera (an alcohol-free toddy) to the Palakkad Coconut Producer Co Ltd (PCPCL). The company is now gearing up to launch neera in 200ml bottles priced at Rs 25 and one-litre packs priced at Rs 125 in Mangalore with effect from October 2014.
Now, the farmers can seek Rs 30 per litre of neera extract from the coconut palms. According to Vinodkumar, chairman, PCPCL, federations of farmers across the 14 districts of Kerala (namely Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram in the north; Palakkad, Thrissur, Eranakulam and Idukki in the central part, and Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam in the south) can now source neera and sent it for processing.
Now, with the technology transfer from CFTRI, it would be possible to process neera on a large scale. There is one unit set up at Thumbe in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, and a second facility would also be operational soon. Currently, PCPCL processes around 5,000 litre neera per day at its Thumbe unit, and will enhance the production capacity to three lakh litre by the end of March 2015.
Neera processing would enable the farmers to increase their income fourteenfold. This has led to a shift in the coconut cultivation farmers to switch from copra to neera. However, PCPCL has also stated that only 10 per cent of the trees of farmers would be used for neera extraction only, because the process takes place only six months in a year. Therefore, these farmers have to look at other viable income sources, such as the sale of tender and mature coconut, apart from copra.
Farmers who have two acres of land growing coconuts could generate approximately Rs 3 lakh per annum from the extraction of neera. PCPCL informed that the labourers engaged in the activity could earn upto Rs 25 per litre. “While neera contains adequate levels of nutrition, toddy is prepared by the fermentation of neera,” said Vinodkumar, adding that Indonesia was the largest producer of neera globally.
“Once neera extraction succeeds in Kerala, it would commence in the districts of Karnataka, and eventually the coconut farming community across India would be roped in,” he added.
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