Ginger processing to give new hope for farmers

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsGiving a fillip to ginger farmers, the state government has accorded administrative sanction to establish a ginger processing plant at Meenangadi in Wayanad district, the major production and trading centre of ginger in the state. The project costing nearly `1.95 crore will be established on the land owned by the Malabar Union of Milma at Meenangadi and the plant will be managed by Milma, with the technical support of CSIR National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram.The unit will have the capacity to process 7.5 tonnes of fresh ginger per day, of which, more than half of the quantity would be marketed as cleaned wax ginger and the remaining would be processed for making ginger oil and ginger powder.CSIR NIIST director Suresh Das told Express that the technology was developed by the institute way back in 2000 for the state and it had won the National Technology Day Award instituted by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) in 2003. “Though it did not become a reality here, the technology emerged successful in North Eastern states including Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya. A similar unit with the latest processing technology was set up at Sikkim in 2010. The unit is running quite successfully and the products have a high demand in European countries,” he said.Unlike the conventional method, the NIIST technology does not resort to drying of gingers prior to processing. Says M M Sree Kumar, Chief Scientist at the CSIR NIIST, “as the harvesting of ginger coincides with the rainy season, sun drying of ginger is hardly possible. Hence, farmers resort to artificial drying, which is energy-intensive and results in the loss of volatile essential oils. With the new technology, the processing is done without resorting to drying and oil is recovered from fresh ginger which leads to higher recovery of oil and the original flavour of fresh ginger.”After thorough cleaning and brushing, ginger rhizomes weighing more than 150 gram would be sorted out and individually shrink-wrapped. This will fetch a premium. Broken pieces of ginger and those having lower weight would be used for making oil and powder. “As oil is extracted without drying and removal of surface skin of gingers, there would be an increase in production by 30 percent. Besides, the ginger samples from the state have been analysed for oil content and have been found to be as per requirement,” Sree Kumar said.Speaking on the project, Director of Agriculture (in-charge) R Ajith Kumar said that the ginger processing unit, which is a value-addition of ginger, would ensure the farmers a due price for their produce. “It would definitely be an encouragement for ginger farmers of Wayanad, where the agrarian community suffered a huge setback due to the decline in ginger prices last year,” he said. The project is expected to be commissioned during the 2013 Ginger harvesting season, officials added.first published:January 01, 1970, 05:30 ISTlast updated:January 01, 1970, 05:30 IST
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Giving a fillip to ginger farmers, the state government has accorded administrative sanction to establish a ginger processing plant at Meenangadi in Wayanad district, the major production and trading centre of ginger in the state. The project costing nearly `1.95 crore will be established on the land owned by the Malabar Union of Milma at Meenangadi and the plant will be managed by Milma, with the technical support of CSIR National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram.

The unit will have the capacity to process 7.5 tonnes of fresh ginger per day, of which, more than half of the quantity would be marketed as cleaned wax ginger and the remaining would be processed for making ginger oil and ginger powder.

CSIR NIIST director Suresh Das told Express that the technology was developed by the institute way back in 2000 for the state and it had won the National Technology Day Award instituted by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) in 2003. “Though it did not become a reality here, the technology emerged successful in North Eastern states including Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya. A similar unit with the latest processing technology was set up at Sikkim in 2010. The unit is running quite successfully and the products have a high demand in European countries,” he said.

Unlike the conventional method, the NIIST technology does not resort to drying of gingers prior to processing. Says M M Sree Kumar, Chief Scientist at the CSIR NIIST, “as the harvesting of ginger coincides with the rainy season, sun drying of ginger is hardly possible. Hence, farmers resort to artificial drying, which is energy-intensive and results in the loss of volatile essential oils. With the new technology, the processing is done without resorting to drying and oil is recovered from fresh ginger which leads to higher recovery of oil and the original flavour of fresh ginger.”

After thorough cleaning and brushing, ginger rhizomes weighing more than 150 gram would be sorted out and individually shrink-wrapped. This will fetch a premium. Broken pieces of ginger and those having lower weight would be used for making oil and powder. “As oil is extracted without drying and removal of surface skin of gingers, there would be an increase in production by 30 percent. Besides, the ginger samples from the state have been analysed for oil content and have been found to be as per requirement,” Sree Kumar said.

Speaking on the project, Director of Agriculture (in-charge) R Ajith Kumar said that the ginger processing unit, which is a value-addition of ginger, would ensure the farmers a due price for their produce. “It would definitely be an encouragement for ginger farmers of Wayanad, where the agrarian community suffered a huge setback due to the decline in ginger prices last year,” he said. The project is expected to be commissioned during the 2013 Ginger harvesting season, officials added.