KASARGOD: A study conducted by the Delhi-based Consortium of Indian Farmers’ Association (CIFA), an apex body of farmers in the country, has found that the state presented a picture of all-round failure in agriculture despite several favourable factors.
In the study titled ‘The Regress of Agriculture in Kerala’, the CIFA says that in spite of a plethora of government-run institutions and huge budgetary allocations for agriculture, the state is heavily dependent on other states to feed its population.
“It is high time that Kerala made a serious review of the situation and close down obsolete corporations and commodity boards. The state should thoroughly revamp its agriculture research and allied activities,” P Chengal Reddy, secretary general of the CIFA, told Express. Between 2005-06--2009-10 the agriculture income of the state declined from `18,042 crore to 16,681 crore. Rice production steadily declined from 13 lakh tonnes in 1974-75 to nine lakh tonnes in 1994-95. It again declined to six lakh tonnes in 2009-10. The annual requirement of rice is 40 lakh tonnes and the huge shortage of nearly 90 per cent is met by supplies from other states.
The production of tapioca declined from 51 lakh tonnes in 1976-77 to 25 lakh tonnes in 2009-10. But the production of tapioca in Tamil Nadu increased from nine lakh tonnes to 69 lakh tonnes during the same period. There has been a sharp drop in Kerala’s contribution to tapioca production in the country from 52 per cent in 1976-77 to 25 per cent in 2009-10.
In the case of cashew nut, the state was ranked first in the 1990s. The production reached its peak during 1993-94 with 1,40,200 tonnes. Now the state is in the fourth place (66,000 tonnes) with Maharashtra occupying the top position with 1,98,000 tonnes.
The state produced 67,360 tonnes of pepper during 2002-03, but the production declined to 37,899 tonnes in 2009-10.
According to the economic survey of the State Planning Board, the state’s share in coconut production fell sharply from 57 per cent in the early 90s to 43 per cent in 2008. The average coconut yield in the state is now 7,365 nuts per hectare, but it is 9,851 nuts in Gujarat and 13,771 in Tamil Nadu. The productivityis low despite the allocation of Rs14.53 crore by the State Agriculture Department to boost coconut production.
The milk production in the state fell from 27 lakh tonnes to 25 lakh tonnes between 2001-2010 and during the same period, the milk production in the country increased from 800 to 1,120 lakh tonnes.
Kerala is heavily dependent on other states for egg and poultry meet. The egg production in the state fell from 2,002 million in 2001-02 to 1,633 million in 2009-10. The poultry meat production fell from 33,000 tonnes in 2003-04 to 22,000 tonnes in 2009-10.