VATIS UPDATE Article

Based on the success of the solar dryer set up at Vedaranyam in India, the Agriculture Engineering Department has set up second solar dryer at a village near Nagapattinam in India. The dryer, set up at Semangalam village at an estimate of Rs. 3.86 lakh, aims at promoting value-addition in copra cultivation. The dryer has been set up with a subsidy of Rs. 1.84 lakh sanctioned by the state government. This is the second dryer to be set up in the district for the benefit of copra cultivators.

In the first case, Tirumaraikadu Iyarkai Vivasayigal Sangam Kootamaippu comprising 21 farmers clubs’ involved in producing copra in a cluster of villages near Vedaranyam, has been set up. Under the conventional method, it took about ten days for drying the coconuts. But, the solar dryer not only expedited it in two days but also ensured hygienic handling of the produce. The dryer, with a plinth area of 400 square feet, can handle 1,500 coconuts a day which are broken before being arranged in trays at the dryer. The dryer maintains a temperature anywhere between 60 and 70 degree Celsius and it is monitored using a sensor.