KOLLAM: If the toddy was tapped from the coconuts in the backyard, now the liquor can be made from tapioca.

The discovery that the spirit to produce foreign liquor can be produced from tapioca and the reference made by the Finance Minister in his budget speech in support of it gives hope to the tapioca farmers.

Dr. G Padmaja, former director of the Central Tuber Research Institute in Thiruvananthapuram, says that 250 ml of spirit can be made from a kilo of tapioca and this costs only Rs 48. The institute has received a patent for a technology to make spirit from tapioca. Hospitals also need spirit.

Kerala Karshaka Sangha Kisan Sabha is also at the forefront with full support. The CPM and the CPI have no objection. Now, only the government's decision is enough.

• The tapioca is dried and converted into starch
• Boil at 100 degrees and knead
• It will be converted to glucose through a chemical process
• Add yeast and ferment to 30 degrees
• When fermented glucose is distilled, the spirit is obtained

Cost of production

• Rs 48 per kg of tapioca spirit
• 1 ton of starch from 3 tons of tapioca
• 680 liters of spirit from 1 ton of starch
• Rs 32640 for 680 liters of spirit

Cost per plant

80 lakhs (including building)

Employment for 80-115 people