He got the award for developing a devise to de-shell the nutmeg seeds

Sachidanandan Velliyath, a 65-year-old farmer from North Aduvassery, Ernakulam, won the prestigious Innovative Farmer Award of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

He received the award from Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh on March 21 at New Delhi during the National Agricultural Fair – Krishi Unnati (Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela), said a press release here.

Development of a nutmeg decorticator, a devise to de-shell the nutmeg seeds, made him eligible for the award.

Since manual nutmeg de-shelling is laborious, it was not economical to produce kernel though it fetched double the price. The issue could be solved with the introduction of the new machine. The capacity of the nutmeg decorticator, powered by a 0.5 HP electric motor, is 150 kg per hour and costs Rs.28,000.

More than 140 farmers in Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have purchased this machine.

The Krishi Vigyan Kendra – Ernakulam of CMFRI had selected Mr. Velliyath as the Best Innovator and was recommended for the prestigious award, the press release added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – March 28th, 2016