TIRUPPUR: There are more than 1.03 crore coconut trees spread over 62,000 hectares in Tiruppur district, according to the agriculture department. Farmers are unaware of the financial potential of neera, sweet sap that is rich in amino acids, minerals and vitamins, extracted from the tree.
Joint managing director of Global Coconut Farmers Producer Company Limited, V Sundaraj said, "around 2-3 litres of neera can be collected a day from a 5-year old plant. If it is not stored under a controlled temperature, it will ferment and become toddy. "
"Neera can be preserved for up to 40 days in the refrigerator without adding preservatives," he added.
Coconut farmers and Coconut farmers producer companies engaged in neera extraction face a number of issues. Three companies were offered licences, but two companies have shut shop.
Madathukulam Farmers Producers Company CEO T Jayamani, "We got a license in 2015 and sold around 150 litres a day at the rate of `30 per 200ml. We received good responses in marriage and family functions. We even formed dealerships in several parts of the Tiruppur district. But the pandemic and resultant lockdown affected our business. We require cold storage units to preserve neera and it will need several lakhs of rupees. The government gives licenses for not individual farmers, but to farmers' producer companies, where farmers should be shareholders. I started the company with 1,000 farmers as shareholders. Since cold storage involves big money, we couldn't move forward.".
Speaking to TNIE, Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection (propaganda secretary) K Sivakumar said, 'A lot of farmers are not aware of the nutrient and revenue potential of neera. For the past several decades, they made toddy and padhaneer. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness and guidance from the agriculture marketing department. If farmers are given financial support and guidance, many will come forward to extract neera."
Deputy Director (Agriculture Marketing) of Coimbatore Zone K Sundaravadivel said, 'We are ready to support farmers and offer marketing ideas. If entrepreneurs are struggling for cold storage facilities, they can avail of support from Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme."