Chennai

At a function held at the Secretariat, Palaniswami issued the licences to Vinayaka Coconut Producers, Pudukottai Coconut Farmers Producers and Coimbatore Coconut Producers to extract Neera, a non-alcoholic nutritious drink.

Pointing out that Tamil Nadu was ranked first among the states in the country in coconut cultivation and second in terms of coconut production, he said lakhs of farmers were dependent on them for their livelihood.

With a view to help these farmers and to improve their income, the state government formulated the Tamil Nadu Neera Rules, 2017, allowing farmers to extract Neera from coconut trees, an official release said. It said several value-added products like Jaggery, Sugar, chocolates, gruel and cakes could be produced from Neera, which in turn would generate employment opportunities in rural areas. He said companies registered with the Central Government’s Coconut Development Board alone would be allowed to manufacture Neera juice and other products.

Palaniswami said the government would also train the farmers on Neera extraction and manufacturing of Neera products from it, besides providing assistance for cold storage facilities and other equipment and sale of neera juice and other products, the release added.

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