Farmers seek opening of two more copra procurement centres

Coimbatore: Farmers urged collector G S Sameeeran to open copra procurement centres in Thondamuthur and Annur areas during the grievance day meeting held at the district collectorate on Tuesday.
District president of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam Su Palanisamy said farmers face difficulty in reaching copra procurement centres. “A farmer from a village nearby Thondamuthur has to travel a distance of up to 40km to reach the procurement centre at Kinathukadavu. The district administration should open centres in Thondamuthur and Annur areas.”
Copra procurement centres are already functioning at Pollachi, Negamam and Senjeri while two more centres were recently opened at Anamalai and Kinathukadavu.
Farmers also raised the issue of less procurement of copra than the stated quantities in the centres. The district administration had announced that a farmer can sell 2,500kg of copra every day, but officials at the centres receive 2,500kg of copra and ask the farmers to wait for 45 days to sell more copra, farmers said.
Personnel assistant (agriculture) Tamilselvi, however, clarified that farmers should have registered their extent of coconut cultivation in advance. If the quantity of copra was higher than the normal production in that particular extent of the field, it would not be procured immediately. “Farmers can sell 2,500kg of copra on consecutive days if the production matches with the extent of the land registered already.”
Farmers also urged the district administration for the speedy disbursal of cash for their produce.
Meanwhile, members of the Thamizhaga Vivisayigal Sangam urged the collector to instruct revenue officials to record the tree varieties grown by farmers in their land documents. It will help more farmers to take up cultivation of high timber value trees such as teak, red sanders and rosewood, they said.