ICAR-CIARI Licenses its Patented Technology on Cinnamon Bark Rubbing Tool to the Island Entrepreneur

Sri Vijaya Puram, Mar 04: A memorandum of understanding was signed between Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director, ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Sri Vijaya Puram and Mrs. R. Karthika Devi, a young entrepreneur from South Andaman, on March 4, 2025 in the presence of scientific staff of the institute. ICAR-CIARI is a premier institute striving hard to develop farmers- friendly technologies having relevance to the farmers of these islands as well as mainland India. True cinnamon is an ancient tree spice that has been valued as a flavourant, medicine and raw material for flavor and fragrance industry for centuries. In order to meet the domestic requirement, the bark of cinnamon and cassia is being imported to the tune of about Rs. 900 crore worth every year. In order to reduce this dependence, promotion of cinnamon cultivation in the country is the need of the hour. However, the tedious harvesting process deters the farmers from taking up its cultivation. The process of harvesting in cinnamon involves scraping of the outer layer of bark, rubbing of the stems, and careful removal of the inner bark from the stem of the tropical species Cinnamomum verum. As the operation involves skill, only a few people are aware about the technique of bark extraction in the areas of production, thereby adding to the cost of harvesting.
Presently, for the process of rubbing of bark, no tools are available in the market and the traditional method leads to quality loss of the produce in most of the cases. In order to address this issue, the team of researchers from ICAR-CIARI namely Dr. Ajit Arun Waman and Dr. Pooja Bohra developed a cinnamon bark rubbing tool- Dweep CinnRub that is not only user friendly but also saves time and energy in the process of harvesting. The tool would be a boon for existing cultivators of cinnamon in the coastal and island states of India apart from regions, wherein area expansion of cinnamon is taking place. In order to make this technology available in the local as well as national markets, the technology was licensed to Mrs. R. Karthika Devi, who aims to mass produce the tool so that it reaches the needy stakeholders. The Director expressed his happiness that a young women entrepreneur of these islands has showed interest in taking up this task and extended his wishes for the venture.