In a move aimed at reviving the flagging coconut sector, Kerala has moved the Central Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices with a representation seeking support price for raw coconut and decided to embark on a 10-year plan for coconut development.
Emerging from a discussion with the commission here on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said the State had sought a support price of ₹2,950 a quintal for raw coconut. The representation also called for enhancing the support price for copra from ₹6,770 to ₹9,725 a quintal.
Justifying the support price for raw coconut, he said: “Almost 98% of the coconut production in Kerala comes from small holdings, making it unviable for farmers to process and sell the nuts as copra. The high production and processing costs in Kerala are grounds for us to demand a higher price for copra,” he told a press conference.
Terming Kerala’s demand for support price for raw coconut as justifiable, commission chairman V.P. Sharma said farmer producer organisations or cooperatives could be encouraged to set up storage and processing facilities and take up value addition of the crop.
Highlighting the high cost of cultivation, low productivity, and absence of scientific crop management practices in Kerala, he stressed the need to make coconut cultivation more profitable. He proposed a four-pronged strategy with focus on technological intervention, institutional strengthening, infrastructure development, and better incentives for farmers.
The Minister said the government was working on a coordinated effort to enhance coconut productivity which, at 7,462 nuts a hectare, was lesser than in other States. A 10-year project to be implemented in two phases would be submitted to the Centre for assistance. Moves were on to set up an integration committee to coordinate the activities of the Coconut Development Board with those of the Agriculture Department and various research institutions.
Mr. Kumar said the government had sought the support of the commission to set up a Coconut Agro Park in Kozhikode for the manufacture of value-added products.
Agricultural Production Commissioner Tikka Ram Meena and officials from the Coconut Development Board, Kerafed and Central Plantation Crops Research Institute participated in the discussions with the commission.