Kerala - Kozhikode   

Subicsha plans to open food processing centre

KOZHIKODE: The Subicsha project, which has completed five years of existence, is going ahead with plans to open a food processing centre in Perambra in the district in January 2009.

Subicsha (Sustainable Business Development of Innovative Coconut-based Micro-Enterprises for Holistic Growth and Poverty Alleviation) is a Rs.14.1-crore project exclusively for developing 43 value-added products from coconut. It was implemented under the Swarn Jayanti Gram Rozgar Yojana (SJGRY) in the Perambra block panchayat.

The food processing facility can be used by the units under Subicsha to process and package food based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). HACCP is a tool used by the global food industry to manage risks to food safety and quality. “The idea is to process food items using seasonal fruits like jackfruit, pineapple, lemon, mango etc. We would be taking up one fruit in its season to focus on making processed food items made from it,” says M. Kunhahamed, chairman of Subicsha.

The project also has plans to market Agmark coconut oil in the district by the end of January.

Also, more coconut collection centres will be operational by January end. The project is also planning to market packaged drinking water and is now in the initial phases of setting up a plant for the purpose.

The uniqueness of the project is its positioning in Perambra, where quality coconuts are available in plenty.

The project aims at developing a massive army of 7,000 women entrepreneurs in seven grama panchayats.

The host of institutes that are lending a helping hand to the project include Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K), National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), Coir Board, CPCRI, Rubco and Kerala Agricultural University. Dr. Saji Gopinath, faculty at IIM-K, conceived the project.

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