Reddiyarchathirram Sustainable Agriculture Producer Company Ltd – a Farmer Producer Company (FPC) facilitated by MSSRF, established a value-addition centre at Kittampati, Dindigul, in March this year to produce moringa powder, capsules, pills, as well as moringa soup powder. While farmers with the FPC have access to the Centre, other farmers use the facility for a nominal charge. Around 50 smallholder-farmers cultivating moringa received training on making value-addition products. These will be marketed through an E-commerce platform.

Dr Bokthiar Hussain, Director, and Dr Younus Ali, Senior Programme Officer, both from SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Bangladesh, and Dr Rengalakshmi, Director -Ecotechnology, MSSRF, visited the unit on July 23, to review progress. They also visited the moringa fields and interacted with almost 100 farmers.

Livelihood Enhancement of the Small Farmers in the SAARC region through Small Scale Agro-business Focusing on Value Chain Development (LEAB) project is funded by SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan, and is technically supported by SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Bangladesh, and implemented by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Kannivadi, Dindigul.