Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu has fulfilled a long-pending demand of a cold storage facility at Thisaiyanvilai for storing drumstick, amla and mango.
The facility will be created with a 200 tonne capacity and at a cost of ₹ 4 crore.
Since the dry region of Thisaiyanvilai taluk of Tirunelveli district and the adjacent Sattankulam taluk in Thoothukudi district have been blessed with the soil and climatic conditions suitable for drumstick and amla cultivation, both the crops are being grown commercially on long stretches in this region close to the sea. The drumstick being harvested in Thisaiyanvilai and Sattankulam are being sent to various parts of the country and even exported. As drumstick is a less water intensive crop, most of the growers have opted for drip irrigation and have got excellent yield.
Besides exporting drumsticks, some of the farmers also export moringa leaves.
While the drumstick growers would get the best price for their produce between December and February due to drastically dwindling arrival, the prices would drop sharply afterwards forcing the farmers to sell the drumstick at throwaway price.
“Drumstick harvest would be unimpressive due to poor yield during northeast monsoon and subsequent cold season till second week of February. And, a small sized drumstick was sold at ₹25 in mid-January last. Now 1 Kg costs only ₹20 on Thursday (April 3), which shows the price fluctuations the farmers have to face every year when the production goes up in summer. Hence, we were clamouring for a cold storage facility in Sattankulam – Thisaiyanvilai area to store the drumstick during bumper yield season and sell it when the price goes up. We’ve been given what we have demanded for decades,” says drumstick grower Selvakumar of Thisaiyanvilai.
According to the officials attached to the Department of Horticulture, the Thisaiyanvilai and Sattankulam taluks produce over 50,000 tonnes of drumstick every year while the production of amla and mango stands at 8,000 tonnes and 500 tonnes respectively.
Since this region also produces amla and mango in a few places and nearby Kalakkad is one of the major producers of mango, the upcoming cold storage facility will be a boon to the farmers. Hence Mr. Appavu submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin seeking cold storage facility at Thisaiyanvilai.
“We’ve finally got what we were waiting for several years. It will immensely benefit the drumstick growers and the horticulturists,” Mr. Appavu said.
Published - April 03, 2025 08:10 pm IST
