Bottled neera, a product developed by the Kasaragod-based Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), was launched at a workshop organised by the institute in Kasaragod on Tuesday.

CPCRI had organised the workshop in association with North Malabar Chamber Of Commerce of Kasaragod.  

Inaugurating the workshop, P Chowdappa, Director of CPCRI, emphasised the need for value addition in coconut and popularising relevant technologies for enhancing the income of farmers.

KB Hebbar, head of post-harvest technology at CPCRI, made a presentation on production of coconut health drink and its value-added products.

C Thamban, principal scientist, handled the session on farmer organisations and marketing strategies for neera.

Neera is a sweet sap tapped from coconut tree. If not consumed within a couple of hours or stored under controlled temperature, it will ferment into toddy with alcohol content.

Nearly 200 farmers, entrepreneurs, and government officials attended the workshop on neera production. Field demonstration on neera production technique was conducted as part of the programme.

A memorandum of understating was signed with Planet Pvt Ltd of Hyderabad and Senthil Seeds Pvt Ltd of Tirupur for production of neera drink on the occasion.

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