Agriculture Department preparing action plan to tackle climate change

The action plan will look into various aspects, including farming practices proven to be effective for reducing water use.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the drought wreaking havoc on farmers, the Agriculture Department is formulating an action plan for tackling the long-term impact of climate change on the sector.

“The action plan will look into various aspects, including farming practices proven to be effective for reducing water use. The plan is to restructure the farming practices to suit the situation triggered by climate change,” Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar informed the Assembly on Tuesday.

Presenting the figures of crop damage, the minister pegged the loss at Rs 724.5 crore. The figures are based on preliminary findings and the loss could go up further, he said in a written reply. Crop damage has been reported in 41,592.3 hectares of land across the state. As many as 62,897 farmers are affected by drought. Major crops that have been affected include vegetables, paddy, banana, arecanut, coconut and pepper.

To another question, the minister said the government intended to start 44 coconut villages (Kera Gramam)  in the state to boost coconut farming. Quality saplings will be developed as part of the project. Each village will cover 250 hectares of coconut farms.

The central statistics for 2014-15 show the production of coconut in the state stood at 33.70 lakh compared to 41.07 lakh in 2013-14. In 2014-15 coconut crop covered 7.93 lakh hectares compared to 7.98 lakh hectares in 2013-14.

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