Come to plantation expo, go home with a free cashew tree sapling

Trivandrum / February 17, 2023

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 18: Get a  cashew tree sapling for free, plant it in home garden and you can harvest nuts aplenty  within three years, thanks to Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC).

The KSCDC stall at the ongoing Plantation Expo has become a big hit, mainly due to the high-yielding cashew sapling being distributed free of cost and high demand of a variety of value-added delicacies on sale.

The four-day Plantation Expo’, organised by the newly set up Plantation Directorate and the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Kerala, will conclude on Sunday.

The expo, which has on display a long list of organic and value-added products from estates across the state,  has been  drawing a steady stream of visitors from the day one, which went up by the week-end.

 KSCDC has brought to the expo  hundreds of high-yielding cashew tree saplings like ‘Kanaka’ ‘Dharasree’, ‘Priyanka’ , ‘Raghav’, ‘Anagha’, ‘Poornima and ‘Madakathara’ for free distribution.

Cashew cultivation involves less input cost compared to many other crops and promises handsome returns within a short period. Besides the income from cashew nuts, cultivators can make a supplementary revenue through value-addition of cashew apple. A farmer can earn upto Rs one  lakh  a year by cultivating cashew on an acre of land, a KSCDC official said. 

The KSCDC stall also has for sale a variety of delicacies made of cashew apple like jam and softdrink.

Come to the stall set up by Kerala Agricultural University, the visitor can taste and buy an assortment of coconut-based culinary delights like ‘kera sugar’, ‘kera honey’, coconut jaggery, coconut juice and chips.

The exhibits of Kerala State Coir Corporation include mats of different sizes, colours and patterns, coir beds and coir-based agri products, which can be bought at 10 to 50 per cent discount price.

The Vanasree stall of the Forest Department has a variety of ethnic and organic products like natural honey, spices and medicinal herbs collected by members of tribal communities.

Conceived as the first major step to make Kerala Plantation a global brand and inclusive growth of the vital sector, the Plantation Expo was opened by Industries Minister Shri P Rajeeve on Thursday. The entry to the expo is free for public.