HYDERABAD: In a novel initiative to help tribal women become self-reliant, while also providing highly-nutritious meals to children in anganwadis in the tribal areas of Khammam and Kothagudem districts, a dry mix (ready-to-cook foods) unit was inaugurated in Bhadrachalam on Saturday by Tribal, Woman and Child Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod.
The Minister also inaugurated a moringa (drumstick) processing unit at Mucharala village in Khammam district. Both the units are wholly owned by tribal women.
A total of 80 tribal woman farmers from Bhadrachalam, Utnoor and Eturnagaram were trained by ICRISAT in food processing and entrepreneurship.
The Sri Lakshmi Ganapathy Dry Mix Unit will supply ready-to-cook jowar meal (upma mix) and ready-to-cook multigrain meal (khichidi mix) for government nutrition programmes and anganwadis in the tribal areas, while the Sri Rama Moringa Processing Industry will sell moringa powder in markets as a health supplement. Rathod said, “The food products being produced in these units will be supplied to children in schools, ashram schools and anganwadis.”
The food processing units have been designed and equipped with machinery as per FSSAI guidelines, and the food products will be sold under the Girijan Co-operative Corporation (GCC) brand, as well as in the open market. Dr Saikat Datta Majumdar of ICRISAT said, “Moringa is said to contain seven times the vitamin C in orange, 10 times the vitamin A in carrot, 17 times the calcium in milk. It is also a rich source of potassium, iron and protein.” The initiative aims to transform tribal women into entrepreneurs, localise production and address malnutrition.