Koraput, June 10: Nearly 2.9 lakh families in Koraput district are landless, and a majority of them depend on forest produce for their livelihood. These families generally get seasonal employment. On the other hand, in the district’s dense forests, many flowers and fruits go unused and rot on the ground.
Keeping this in view, the state’s first Simarouba oil processing unit has been started at Kotpad to provide year-round employment to forest dwellers and landless people. The unit has been made operational by the organization Pragati, while the Chitridora FPO will manage it.
According to Pragati organization president Prabhakar Kar Adhikari, Simarouba trees are available in large numbers in forests and along roadsides across different parts of the district. The fruits, seeds, and leaves of this tree can be converted into valuable products.
He said that Simarouba trees bear fruit throughout the year. During May and June, the ripe fruits fall to the ground and can be collected by local people. The seeds will be separated from the shells and processed in the unit to extract oil. About 40–50 percent oil can be obtained from one quintal of seeds.
The oil has high market demand, with prices ranging from ₹300 to ₹500 per litre. It is especially used in the cosmetic industry.
Besides this, the seed shells can be burnt and powdered to prepare biochar. Since biochar contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphate, it can be used as an organic fertilizer to improve soil fertility. The leaves can also be used as organic manure.
It is believed that if forest dwellers actively support this initiative, the unit will become successful and help strengthen the economic condition of landless and forest-dependent families by providing them employment throughout the year.
As this is the state’s first such unit at Kotpad, local landless people and forest dwellers will collect the Simarouba fruits and supply them to the processing unit. For this, the organization will pay ₹2,000 per quintal of collected produce.
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