CHENNAI: Today, a farmer sells a coconut for Rs 10-Rs 12. The cost has been stagnant for a decade. But, the same coconut is marketed in cities at even Rs 45-Rs 50, depending on the season. At this rate, what profit will a farmer make if he pins all his hopes on just the coconuts? It’s high time we stand united and explore the potential measures of drawing income from the tree and its many by-products,” begins K Balasubramanian, the Managing Director of Global Coconut Farmers Producer Company Limited, which was started in November 2020. With this plan and promise, the team launched Thenneera, its first value-added product, on January 18, and inaugurated the first direct sales outlet in Chennai on January 26 at Mount Poonamallee Road.
Harvesting a new hope
When the nutrient-rich native drink, tapped from coconut trees, was introduced in Coimbatore — the coconut capital of India — a few years back, it was lauded to be a healthy alternative and expected to positively impact the farming community. But within a year, the profitability and yield dwindled due to various factors like lack of suitable technology to tap and preserve the highly perishable drink, pest attacks, poor marketing support and high production cost. After many trials and errors, Balasubramanian and his team of farmers resurrected the drink, sustainably. “A coconut tree yields 100-120 coconuts in a year. Each coconut takes about 10 months to mature from a seed into a nut. Given the price, a farmer can earn Rs 1,400-Rs 1,500 from a tree in a year. But, in the case of thenneera, if a tree can give a litre a day during inflorescence, they will get double to triple the income as we’ve priced a tetra pack of 200 ml at Rs 50,” he details.
Besides providing an additional income to farmers, the sweet, oyster white-coloured drink comes with a host of medicinal properties. It’s extracted from spadix, the conical cluster of flowers that sprout into coconuts from trees, at the 120-acre coconut farm in and around Palladam, Tirupur. On average, an adult coconut palm produces 12-14 inflorescences per year; almost one every month. When the neera is extracted, it doesn’t completely affect the farmer as there’s still some left for the nut production.
The team incorporates Central Plantation Crop Research Institute’s patented Coconut Sap Chiller technique to extract the drink and to prevent it from fermenting into toddy. “This has been possible under the supervision of Dr KB Hebbar, senior scientist, CPCRI. The neera is collected in an earthen pot, coated with lime, and the pot is kept inside a box with ice cubes. The drink is preserved at a low temperature of four degrees. Once the desired quantity is collected, neera is liquified and treated to an ultra-high temperature of 120 degrees, then packed and sold in tetra packs with a shelf life of six months. CPCRI, Kasaragod, has certified that it is 100 per cent natural extract,” he assures.
A sustainable solution
Welcoming the move, Mohan Mandrachalam, a farmer from Sencheri Malai (40 km from Coimbatore), explains how neera production is expected to revolutionise the farm sector in this agrarian belt. “Coming out with value-added products has been a dream for many farmers like me to create more employment opportunities. But, most of us have tried and failed in the past. My farm has 700 trees and I’m ready to give 100 for thenneera extraction. Unlike coconut sales, this is not seasonal. The peak season for coconuts is from March to September when most of the production and sales occur; the cost goes up and down depending on the season. But Thenneera will be available frequently.”
Resonating Mohan’s thoughts, Ramachandran, another farmer from Coimbatore, elaborates on how the drink can be a solution to combat the challenges in maintaining coconut trees. “Coconut is a perennial crop, time-consuming, and drinks up a lot of water. Scarcity in labour and transportation costs during the pandemic has been detrimental. There are also seasonal adversities, rising input costs and pest attacks. For a farmer to step up individually and come up with a value-added product might be risky.
But if you’re part of a company, the production capacity and resources multiply. Farmers must realise they must transform holistically to promote their business.” Chipping in, Anandakrishnan from Vavipalayam points out, “This way, harvesting also happens faster. Unlike coconut, neera is available from the second month of inflorescence. We have an assured income. Since a handful of trees will be given for neera extraction, the production of coconuts will reduce, and there will be more demand for them at a better price. This can also solve the problem of labour shortage to an extent.”
For a larger cause
The team currently produces 500 litres of thenneera a day, but hopes to scale up the production to 5,000 litres to cater to a larger clientele. “We’ve tied up with a select few supermarkets in major pockets of the city to promote the drink. It will soon be made available online. Orders are currently taken through phone/WhatsApp and delivered across the city. During the off-season, products like coconut honey and sugar will be introduced. We are also in talks with MV Hospital for Diabetes for a clinical RnD with 20 youths to test the validity of Glycemic Index. The initiative will be supported by the global coconut development board,” informs Balasubramanian. GCFPC has been getting enquiries for exporting Thenneera to the Middle East, Europe and the USA.
With a membership of 1,200 coconut growers from Tirupur and Coimbatore, the GCFPC’s objectives are to maximise the income of farmers, improve the value of products of farmers, integrate manufacturers and consumers, assist in – processing, advertising and marketing, provide training and technical assistance from production to sales, and share the profit equally. “There’s ample scientific backing for coconuts and their properties. The Centre must also consider revising the Minimum Support Price for milling copra during its season. This way, the rural economy will thrive better,” suggests Mohan.
For details, visit: thenneera.com or address: No 25, Mount Poonamallee Road, Nandambakkam, Chennai 89