Attitude change vital to make kithul a lucrative industry

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Kithul manufacture, a perennial cottage industry is now turned into a commercially viable export industry under the National Kithul Development Program of the Ministry of Rural Industries and Self Employment Promotion.

Application of KASPER

Kithul products

The program was launched early this year following a Cabinet approval to spearhead a vibrant export market and promote self employment at rural level.

Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Industries and Self Employment Promotion, K.R. Samarasingha said new technology and a market has been secured to revive the industry which had been dormant due to the absence of a proper program.

"New cooking and preserving techniques and facilities to uplift the industry have been introduced to encourage manufacturers", he said. The objective of the national program is to go beyond the cottage industry to a commercial venture that would generate employment and develop the rural economy.

Samarasinghe said that according to a survey a sum of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 could be earned a month from a kithul tree by producing treacle and jaggery.The profit could be enhanced depending on the maturity of the tree and the weather condition.

Kithul is predominantly found in the wet zone and according to the Agrarian Development and Department of Census and Statistics the country has around three million kithul trees grown in the Ratnapura, Kandy, Matale, Badulla and as fragments in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts. The study further disclosed that of the three million trees it is only around 550,000 trees that are in the stage of blooming and suitable for tapping. It has been ascertained that around 30,000 people are engaged in the kithul industry.

Samarasinghe said the kithul tree is a herbal crop and it is a better alternative to sugar as a nutritious food product that could save the drain of large amounts of foreign exchange on the import of sugar. According to a Central Bank report the country spend around Rs. 22,000 million last year on the import of around 575,000 mt of sugar. Annually around 550,000 mt of sugar is imported.

There is a great demand for quality kithul products from the local and overseas markets. Kithal flour, treacle, jaggery, syrups, jelly and toddy are some of the products of the kithul tree.

Kithul Activation and Sap Production Enhancing Reagent (KASPER), a treatment to promote toddy harvest was introduced by the Ministry with the support of the Industrial Technology Institute.

Samarasinghe said steps have been taken to elevate the standard of kithul producers by registering, issuing identity cards, introducing pension and insurance schemes. Research to introduce high yielding trees have commenced.

"Kithul manufacturing pilot projects have been launched in the Divisional Secretariats of Imbulpe, Passara, Hataraliyadda, Bulathsinhala, Tawalama and Madulla", he said.

Samarasinghe said that to make kithul a lucrative industry there has to be a change in attitude. Tapping and manufacture of kithul products then could be recognised as a profession.