Nabarangpur: In a boost to farmers' income and to encourage new areas of income generation, an essential oils manufacturing unit has been set up at Saruguda village under Nandahandi block in the district.
It was set up with the help of Lucknow-based Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).
"CIMAP helped us set up a oil distillation unit on our plot. Now, we are able to produce different types of medicinal and aromatic oils from lemon grass, nilgiri and turmeric leaves among others," said an entrepreneur, Krushna Chandra Nayak.
"It takes around 2-3 hours for one-time processing; and from 4-5 quintals of raw products, we are able to produce around five litres of oil. Among the oils produced here, nilgiri oil is used for medicinal purpose while palmaroza oil is used for making room fresheners. Besides, different cosmetic products are being made from the lemon grass oil," said a technician, Mahendra Kumar Das.
Around one litre oil is produced from a quintal of lemon grass and sold at about Rs 900-1000 a litre. "We are using the non-agricultural and barren lands to grow lemon grass. As cattle are not eating it, we don't need to spend time to guard the land," said a farmer, Soumya Ranjan Mishra.
Nabarangpur collector Ajit Kumar Mishra said, "This has encouraged many youths in the region and they are taking up the project. It will boost their income and also help the economic development of the district."
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