The extension department at St Josephs College in Trichy partnered with the farmers to plant moringa trees and produce processed leaf powder. The value-added powder will be sent to the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) in Coimbatore for distribution.
Trichy: The extension department at St Josephs College in Trichy partnered with the farmers to plant moringa trees and produce processed leaf powder, maximizing the market value of moringa leaf powder.The value-added powder will be sent to the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) in Coimbatore for distribution.To begin with, the department selected 30 farmers for the project.The initiative is also expected to boost the income of the farmers in five villages by way of moringa cultivation, according to Rev Fr Berchmans, the department’s head of program at St Josephs College.
Our extension department’s coordinators will visit the villages on a regular basis and monitor the plantation’s development.Once moringa power is operational, we will explore all the possible ways to market it in such a way that every household will earn more money.Berchmans told me that the work would be entrusted to the self-help organizations established in each village.If the scheme goes well, they hope to export it by collaborating with major companies.According to college secretary Rev Fr Peter, people have become health conscious since the Covid-19 pandemic.Because moringa leaves have a number of nutritional benefits, commercializing it and its by-products would be simple, he said.Yet, J Mariadoss, 42, a farmer from Inam Mathur said that although they have been growing mMoringa trees, they did not know much about the health benefits or how the income would be increased once the leaves have been value-added.