No hike in minimum support price for rubber
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Since the current Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs150 a kilo for natural rubber ensures fair price to cultivators, there was no need to raise it further, Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar told the Assembly on Wednesday.
He was replying to a calling attention motion by Mons Joseph of the Kerala Congress who demanded an increase in the benefits of Rubber Production Incentive Scheme (RPIS) to solve the financial difficulties being faced by rubber cultivators of the state. Issues faced by rubber cultivators cannot be addressed by the state government alone.
Along with the efforts by the state government, the Centre also needs to effectively intervene to solve the crisis in the sector, he reminded. Sunil Kumar said an all-party delegation from the state would soon visit the Prime Minister and apprise him of the issues in the sector.
The minister said two phases of the Rubber Production Incentive Scheme (RPIS) have been completed and that the third phase has begun from July. Those cultivators who were not able to register under the scheme were given time till August 13 to register, he said. Flaying the Centre’s indifferent attitude towards rubber cultivators, Sunil Kumar said the state legislature had unanimously passed a resolution against this attitude. However, the Centre has not given any concrete assurances, he said.
Plan to set up 500 outlets to market coir products
T’Puram: Coir is going places, and how! The state government plans to establish 500 outlets in various parts of the country for effectively marketing coir products. Finance and Coir Minister T M Thomas Isaac told the Assembly on Wednesday the government has, in principle, decided to form a company for the purpose. This year, the government also plans to use coir geotextiles extensively. They will be used to protect the banks of ponds and rivers, the minister said.
The government plans to address the shortage of coconut husk by establishing 1,000 new mills across the state. ‘’Instead of bringing husk to the mills, we plan to have mills where husk is found abundantly,’’ he said. The mills, every panchayat will have one, will be established with the assistance of the Kudumbashree. The idea is to convert at least 35 per cent of the husk produced in the state into fibre in Kerala itself.