KOCHI: Kerala-based startup NAVA Design and Innovation recently emerged as one of the four winners in the agriculture segment of the National Startup Awards 2020 instituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. NAVA won the same for ‘Sapper’-an automated neera extractor. The world’s first robotic coconut-sap tapping device, touted to revolutionise the coconut industry, works on solar energy and leaves zero carbon footprint.
“The winners were decided after a 10-month-long evaluation. The award is an honour to receive in the first edition of the National Startup Awards itself. Word has spread throughout the country on Sapper. We’re the third-largest producer of coconuts after the Philippines and Indonesia. The device will not only reduce
tedious work of coconut farmers but also help them earn a better income and mass-produce sugar and other healthy beverages easily,” said Charles Vijay Varghese, founder. The device was incubated at Maker Village in Kalamassery.