KOCHI: The organic pepper and coffee cultivated by tribal farmers of Athirappilly are all set to reach the European market in three months.
Athirappilly Tribal Valley Farmer Producer Company chairman M Ratheesh and Sweden-based VakeWorks AB chief operating officer Rajesh Rajagopalan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Agriculture Minister P Prasad at a function held in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday for export of two tonnes of pepper to Sweden per year for three years. The pepper will be marketed through cobranding strategy.
An MoU was signed by M Ratheesh and JS and T Associates representative Jinu Joseph for export of 20 tonnes of coffee to Europe per year for the next five years.
“The farmer producer company has been formed under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative with financial support from the agriculture department aiming to ensure better income to tribal farmers through diversification and value addition,” said the minister.
“The project, launched in 2023, has helped improve the livelihood of tribal farmers. A processing unit has been established for value addition and the products are marketed under the brand name ‘Athirappilly’,” he said.
There are 239 shareholders in the all-tribal farmer producer company and around 330 hectares of land has been utilised for cultivation of organic products. The farmers are cultivating coffee, pepper, turmeric, wild arrowroot, cocoa and nutmeg in the farm lands which are being marketed under the brand name.
The company will export both white pepper and black pepper to Sweden. The coffee will be exported as beans and an agency in Europe will process and market it as a premium product. The first consignment is expected to be shipped within three months.
“The samples of coffee and pepper have been tested and certified by international sustainable certification agency Rainforest Alliance. The foreign testing lab has certified the products as excellent. We are exporting Robusta and Liberica varieties of coffee to Europe.
The Rainforest Alliance is an agency that provides ecological, social and economical sustainability certification, which is of high value and preferred by premium customers. We have established a processing facility at Vettilappara as part of the project,” said Athirappilly Tribal Valley Agricultural Project advisor S S Salumon.
“The formation of the farmer producer company has helped avoid middlemen and ensure better returns to the farmers. We collect the produces from farmers directly at market rate. A share of the profit and bonus will be given to the farmers after sale,” said Athirappilly Tribal Valley FPC chairman M Ratheesh.