VIJAYAWADA: Swapna hails from an agriculture family in Punganur of Chittoor district and to support her husband, a farmer, in maintaining the family, she took up deseeding of tamarind, which is grown extensively in the belt. Though deseeding tamarind is labour intensive, the income is not much.
It all changed when Swapna set up a tamarind processing unit with the help of Amma Charitable Trust, in coordination with Andhra Pradesh Food Processing Society, a few months ago. From earning just Rs 200 per day on average, now Swapna gets anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000.
Tamarind processing units introduced by the Food Processing Society in 2022, have increased the income of women dependent on deseeding significantly. Initially, it was introduced in Punganur and other western mandals of Chittoor. Now, expansion plans are on the anvil with their success.
Speaking to TNIE, Swapna said before setting up the unit, she used to be tired and her hands used to pain, as she has to beat tamarind to deseed. “Now, I am happy, as the semi-automatic machine has not only made my task easy, but my health is also not affected. The production has increased significantly. Earlier, I used to deseed around 20 kg on an average per day and used to earn around Rs 9 to Rs 10 per kg. Now, with the help of the machine, I am able to process up to 60 kg a day on average and my earning has gone up significantly,” she narrated.
Echoing the same opinion, Uma, who too ekes out a living by deseeding tamarind in Punganur, said she set up her unit in May 2022 after undergoing training in the use of the semi-automatic tamarind deseeding machine.
“Earlier, we used to hit tamarind and now with this machine, which runs on power, we cut the raw tamarind, deseed it and pack it after using a mechanical press. The entire process is cost-effective and it has increased production, thereby our income has also gone up,” she said.
Speaking about the programme and the transformation it brought in the lives of the women dependent on deseeding tamarind, Hemanth of Amma Charitable Trust said to bring about a transformative change in the lives of SHG members, who are largely dependent on tamarind deseeding for a living, the trust with the help of the Food Processing Department, took up the programme under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (MPFMES).
“Observing the manual work they engage in deseeding of tamarind and the impact of it on their health, we came up with the semi-automatic tamarind processing unit, which runs on power. In February 2022, we gave demonstrative training for 1,000 women and of them around 200 came forward to set up their own units. Initially, the transformation began with 12 women setting up their units and their success inspired more SHG women. Now, 72 units are operating and a few more are in the process of being set up,” Hemant explained.