KOCHI: To create more employment opportunities in the traditional coir industry, the government will implement product diversification and initiate steps to expand the market, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday. The coir industry is facing crisis due to the failure to adopt modern technology.
"We cannot survive in the market without adapting to the changing atmosphere," he said, while inaugurating the project for utilisation of coir geo textile to stop soil erosion at Vadakkekara Moothakunnam here.
The government will modernise the coir sector and support the traditional coir workers. As part of the mechanisation policy, the traditional ratt will be replaced by electronic spinning machines within three years. "Steps will be taken to procure coir products from traditional workers through public sector firms," he said. Pinarayi said the use of coir geo textile to stop soil erosion and for water conservation is offering new hope to the coir industry. Around 80,120 tonnes of top soil, including the organic layer in the Western Ghats, is washed away during the rainy season, he said.
Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said the Coirfed has received orders for coir geo textile worth `120 crore under the employment generation scheme, he said. Isaac inaugurated the distribution of coir machinery. MLAs V D Satheesan and S Sharma, district panchayat member P S Shyla, Vadakkekara Panchayat president K M Ambrose, member Hochmin N C, Paravoor block panchayat member Saiba Sajeev, coir development director N Padmakumar, special secretary Mini Antony, Coir Corporation Chairman R Nazar and Coir Workers Welfare Board Chairman K K Ganeshan attended the function.