'Only product diversification can save coconut farmers'

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 15. Only product diversification can save coconut farmers of the State, according to the chairman of the Coconut Development Board, Dr. P. Rathinam.

At a press conference here today, he said it was profitless to expect the price of coconut to go up by itself beyond a level in view of the market realities. Cheaper substitute oils were available in the market. Also, the habit of using coconut oil as a cooking oil was mainly confined to Keralites.

The only way to bolster the coconut price was to go for vigorous diversification of coconut products, backed by a strong marketing strategy.

More than 50 per cent of the current production of coconuts in the country was being used for culinary processes. The traditional pattern of using it as cooking oil, raw kernel for culinary preparations and edible copra had remained unchanged over the years. Only through finding new ways of expanding its use as an edible material could Kerala farmers reap higher prices for their produce.

According to Dr. Rathinam, there is excellent scope for production of coconut-based items such as desiccated coconut, coconut cream and coconut milk powder and packaged coconut tender water as a beverage.

In this context, he mooted the idea of forming "coconut growers societies" which could collectively take up the processing of coconut and its by-products and manufacturing of value-added items.

Giving statistics of the coconut industry in the country, he said the total production was in the region of 12,251 million nuts from an area of 17.77 lakh hectares. Of this, Kerala's share is 50.58 per cent in area, while its share in the production is only 42.17 per cent.

Tamil Nadu with 17.10 per cent share in area accounted for 26.3 per cent share in production. In the case of Andhra Pradesh, these were 5.72 per cent and 8.59 per cent, respectively.

The productivity in Kerala is only 5,747 nuts per hectare, while it is 10,599 nuts in Tamil Nadu and 10,342 nuts in Andhra Pradesh. There was scope for increasing the productivity in Kerala through proper crop management, Dr. Rathinam said.

He said the board had so far spent Rs. 112.54 crores in Kerala since inception, of which Rs. 30.09 crores was spent on mite control measures recently.

The board has initiated a technology development programme by setting up pilot plants for integrated coconut processing and other activities.

Under the programme, aid to technological research projects, especially in the areas of product diversification and by-product utilisation, is given through recognised research institutions.

The board meets 100 per cent of the expenditure and so far 14 research projects have been sponsored under the programme, Dr. Rathinam informed.

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Section  : Southern States
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