Principal of ITI Berhampur Rajat Kumar Panigrahi gives an insight into a cashew processing unit to students at ITI Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Feb. 15: Cashew nut processing and the maintenance of machineries used in such units will be further streamlined by transferring the knowhow to young technicians in the near future.

A certificate course on cashew processing will be introduced at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Berhampur in the public private participation (PPP) mode and the three-month training course of the first batch will commence from March.

“This course was already approved by the government of Orissa. This course will be the first of its kind,” said Rajat Kumar Panigrahi, principal, ITI Berhampur. The duration of the course would be of three months and will include 60 hours of in-house practicals and 60 hours of apprenticeship in a cashew processing industry. In addition to that there would be 60 hours of theory classes, he said.

“Orissa is the third largest producer of cashew nut after Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. At present, the area under cashew nut cultivation in the state is 1,40,000 hectares with production of approximately 90,000 metric tonnes. Though Orissa is the third largest cashew producer in India, we are lagging behind in the processing and value-addition chain.

“This course will cater to the cashew industry to a great extent because as of now there are no experienced and skilled personnel available in our country or abroad,” said Rajendra Sabat, secretary, Orissa Cashew Processors' Association (OCPA).

This is the dream project of ITI Berhampur, ACCESS Development Services and Orissa Cashew Processors’ Association (OCPA).

According to sources, the project is supported by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), along with consortium partners.

Meanwhile Bishnu Prasad Panda Team Leader of ACCESS Development Services, a New Delhi based NGO operating in 12 states of the country is quiet optimistic about the project. “It would be much helpful to the entrepreneurs of the unorganized cashew sector simultaneously improve the economic livelihoods of impoverished individuals”, Panda said. The project estimated Rs. 5-lakhs and the SIDBI has provided a sum of Rs. 4-lakhs to purchase some machineries including boiler, cashew cooker, hot house, cutting table to be operated both by hand and leg.

ITI Berhampur has provided the accommodation, electricity and a hall for the module at a monthly rent of Rs. 3 thousand as per the provisions of the state government, said Principal ITI. “We have engineers in sugarcane, textile and many sectors except cashew. When some machinery of a cashew processing unit develops some snag, the entrepreneur calls the engineer from Mangalore to repair it, which is expensive and time taking. But once this Certificate Course on Cashew Processing starts, the Technicians who would be trained accordingly would immediately solve the issue. We would teach the trainees about the processing of the cashew-nuts and the maintenance of the machineries used”, he said. ITI pass out or candidates with minimum of 5 years of experience in a cashew processing unit is the required qualifications for the course for which the fee structure is yet to be decided. This course would fulfill the cluster of industry concept in the region, he said.