Sri Vijaya Puram, July 22: The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Rural Livelihoods Mission (ANIRLM) has trained 35 Self Help Group (SHG) members in Moringa value addition, focusing on entrepreneurship, product development and market readiness as part of efforts to strengthen rural livelihoods and expand income-generating opportunities for women in the Islands.
The two-day training programme, held on July 20 and 21 at the Conference Hall of the Directorate of Rural Development, was organised under the aegis of the Directorate of Rural Development, Andaman & Nicobar Administration. Participants from the Prothrapur and Ferrargunj Community Development Blocks attended the programme.
The initiative focused on enhancing the capacity of rural women to develop value-added Moringa products and establish sustainable micro-enterprises through collective production and marketing.
During the programme, officials briefed participants on the formation of Producer Groups, collective business planning, branding strategies, digital marketing, market linkages, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration and support available under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme.
The sessions also included practical demonstrations on processing Moringa into marketable products. Participants received hands-on training in the preparation of Moringa powder, Moringa soup powder, Moringa tea and Moringa soap, along with guidance on packaging, quality control, branding and product marketing.
According to ANIRLM, the trained SHG members will subsequently form Producer Groups to undertake collective procurement of raw materials, production, packaging and marketing of Moringa-based products. The Producer Groups will also be supported in obtaining FSSAI registration and accessing benefits available under the PMFME Scheme to facilitate the establishment of sustainable micro-enterprises.
The programme is part of ANIRLM’s ongoing strategy to promote entrepreneurship among rural women by strengthening local value chains and encouraging collective enterprise models. By developing market-oriented products and improving access to institutional support, the initiative aims to create long-term livelihood opportunities for Self Help Group members.
Officials stated that capacity-building through product diversification, business planning and market linkage is expected to improve the economic prospects of rural women while encouraging value addition to locally available resources.
The training programme also aligns with the broader objective of enabling SHG members to increase their household income through organised production and enterprise development, supporting the mission of creating more Lakhpati Didis in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
