KOCHI: Despite the earnest efforts of the Coconut Development Board (CDB) and the Kerala Coconut Development Corporation (KCDC), the patronage for coconut farming is fast declining in the state. Though coconut is cultivated on 7.65 lakh hectares across the state, there is a sharp decline in productivity as farmers have lost interest owing to sharp increase in land value, unrealistically low prices per nut and high labour cost.
Though Kerala is known as the land of coconut and the crop has been part of our culture, cuisine and livelihood, the state’s rank has gone down in terms of productivity. While Andhra Pradesh produces 15,964 nuts per hectare, Kerala’s productivity is just 7,215 nuts per hectare.
When farmers complained about the non-availability of coconut climbers, the CDB formed Friends of Coconut Tree (FoST), a cluster of coconut climbers, to help farmers in plant protection, harvest and field operations. CDB has trained 32,925 people between ages 18 and 50 years over the past 12 years in coconut climbing. They were provided climbing devices at subsidised rates too. However, when CDB decided to create a database of climbers, it was found that only 673 are active now.
“We are in the process of forming FoST clusters at the village level and are creating a database of coconut climbers. We will launch a call centre in our Kochi office where farmers can call to get in touch with the cluster in their locality. However, we need at least 10 climbers for a village. Most of the people who got trained in coconut climbing have migrated to other jobs. Though we trained 32,925 people, only 673 people have joined the cluster,” said CDB assistant director (publicity) Mini Mathew.
“A majority of coconut climbers have left the profession after finding jobs with higher remuneration. Due to low yield, low income and high labour cost, most of the farmers have stopped following the 45-day harvest cycle. Another issue is fragmentation of plantations due to increase in land value. In the 1980s, coconut farmers in the high ranges cut down coconut trees and started rubber cultivation. Now, coconut plantations are converted into commercial plots,” said Arunjith, a farmer in Aluva.
Arunjith had left his job in a battery manufacturing firm in Bengaluru to follow his passion for coconut farming. He bought 9.5 acres of land in Kozhikode for cultivation. He was devastated when elephants destroyed the trees. Now, he has joined FoST and is helping CDB in promoting coconut cultivation. “High remuneration demanded by coconut climbers forced farmers to delay the harvest cycle. Climbers are demanding Rs 35 to Rs 40 to climb one tree. Now, farmers have stopped applying manure, following the 45-day harvest cycle and cleaning the crown of the tree. This has led to drop in productivity. As farmers delayed harvest cycle, climbers lost work and migrated to other professions,” said Arunjith.
James Edacheri, a farmer in Kozhikode, said the unrealistic price of coconuts is forcing farmers to give up cultivation. “The state government has fixed a base rate of Rs 34 per kg for coconut. However, they are procuring just 10 tonnes of coconut per week. So, farmers are forced to depend on middlemen, who offer only Rs 25 per kg. We get only Rs 8-10 per nut which is not enough. The price of coconut has been stagnant despite rise in input cost,” he said.