Namakkal farmers undergo training on banana fibre extraction, value addition

A group of farmers, entrepreneurs, and rural youth from Namakkal district underwent a two-day training on banana fibre and value addition at ICAR–National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchi, under the State government’s Project Ainthinai.

Inaugurating the training, R. Selvarajan, Director, NRCB, explained how banana was an important crop for entrepreneurship and livelihood. Banana was cultivated on 10,000 acres in Namakkal, Tiruchi, and Karur districts. “We have introduced high-yielding and value-added banana varieties such as Kaveri Vaman, Kanchan, and Kalki,” he said and added that these varieties will create export opportunities and entrepreneurial prospects for farmers.

Principal scientist J. Poorani said value-addition in banana could be a sustainable strategy to enhance farmers’ income and promote agribusiness opportunities.

The training was to demonstrate that banana pseudo stems were not just waste material but offer opportunities for launching new businesses and increasing income of farmers.

The training focused on scientific extraction of fibre from banana pseudo stem, operation and maintenance of fibre extraction machines, grading, processing methods, and development of diversified value-added products. Experts demonstrated eco-friendly technologies for converting banana waste into commercially viable products.

Sessions on banana value addition, post-harvest management for domestic and export markets and the machinery used in banana fibre extraction and processing were held during the training.

Hands-on practical training on preparation of banana fig, banana flower thokku, banana stem pickle, low-calorie banana stem juice, fibre extraction, and softening, and the production of fibre-based handicrafts were organised, an NRCB press release said.