Rayagada: The district administration recently laid the foundation stone for a pineapple juice-making unit here to enhance the socio-economic condition of the Dongria Kondh tribal.

"Tribal people abundantly produce the fruit but they fail to get the proper price for it owing to the low-bargaining power and lack of proper market. Hence, to address these problems the district administration decided to set up a juice-making unit here," said Rayagada collector Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar.

With the climatic condition being conducive, pineapple is grown on more than 700 acres by the Dongria Kondh community residing in and around Niyamgiri hill range in the district. The tribal people earn about Rs 35,000 by growing around 30,000 pineapple plants on each acre. The amount they earn is much lesser than the expected amount they should actually get. Traders from Raipur, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar buy pineapple at Rs 5 to Rs 10 per piece from the tribal," said Gunupur project administrator Gorachand Gomang.

An official said the unit will come up at Chatikona, which is situated on the National Highway-326 between Rayagada and Bissamkatak and well-collected with the rail network, with an estimated budget of Rs 2 crore.

"Initially, it has been decided to form 10 producers group, involving 1240 families of 39 villages, under three panchayats of the district and their produce will be procured by the administration at a fixed price. Subsequently, the fruits will be processed and the juice will be sold under the brand name Niyamgiri Juice," the collector said.

According to the collector, the unit is will provide direct round the year employment to around 30 people to be engaged in various works in the processing unit. "The project proposal is ready and we are hopeful to install the required machineries in next couple of months," the collector said.

The tribal people are hopeful that establishment of the processing unit will go a long way in strengthening their economy. "Presently, without any storage facility we are force to sell our produce at throwaway prices. Now, the administration will purchase it from us at our doorsteps. Undoubtedly, the farmers will be benefited by it," said Suresh Wadeka, a tribal farmer of Khambesi village.