KOCHI: With Kerala reporting a steep decline in coconut production, the Coconut Development Board (CDB) has formulated a slew of schemes to enhance productivity. The downturn has sent coconut prices soaring in the state.
The schemes include subsidy for coconut nurseries and nucleus coconut seed gardens, a cluster-based productivity enhancement scheme, and assistance for expansion of area under cultivation. Besides, coconut climbers’ task forces will be formed under a new scheme titled Cocomitra, where a group of 10 persons can form a legal entity — like a cooperative society — to avail a financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh for equipment and mobility support.
“Though we spend Rs 20 crore a year for productivity enhancement in Kerala, there has been a decline in coconut production,” CDB chief coconut development officer B Hanumanthe Gowda told TNIE.
“Around 38% of the farms in the state are old and senile. The productivity has been affected due to pests and diseases. So we have decided to increase the area under cultivation and productivity.”
Coconut nursery
Under the scheme to ensure the availability of quality seedlings, CDB will provide financial assistance of Rs 90 per seedling for public sector initiatives and half of that for the private sector, with a maximum production capacity of 25,000 seedlings in acre.
The minimum production capacity should be 6,250 seedlings per year on 25 cents of land. In non-traditional areas, the minimum production can be 3,125 seedlings. The nursery with a capacity of more than 20,000 quality seedlings will be provided accreditation under the CDB scheme ‘Accreditation and Rating of Coconut Nursery’.
Nucleus seed garden
A financial assistance of Rs 3.60 lakh per hectare will be provided to coconut cultivators to establish nucleus coconut seed gardens. The minimum area required for a seed garden is two hectares, with the maximum assistance extended up to an area of four hectares.
Productivity improvement
Another scheme is to improve the productivity of coconut holdings through an integrated approach. The subsidy amount will be Rs 42,000 per hectare, limited to a maximum of two hectares per beneficiary in two equal annual instalments.
The scheme will be implemented on a cluster basis through the department of agriculture of the state government concerned or directly by CDB. The cluster should have a minimum of 25 hectares of coconut palms, with a maximum of 200 hectares.
Expansion of area under cultivation
Under the scheme to expand the area under cultivation, CDB will provide Rs 56,000 per hectare in two equal annual instalments to plant coconut seedlings in new areas. The subsidy is extended for a maximum of two hectares and a minimum area of 25 cents per beneficiary.
Cocomitra
The board will introduce a new scheme, ‘Cocomitra – Coconut Climbers’ Task Forces’, which aims to create a structured, dedicated, skilled, and service-oriented workforce of trained coconut climbers capable of providing timely harvesting, plant protection, and related operations in plantations.
The scheme is a forward step from the ‘Friends of Coconut Tree’ (FoCT), which began in 2011 and has trained over 33,000 people in Kerala alone.
Under Cocomitra, those interested in taking up coconut harvesting and plant protection activities will be provided three-day residential training.
Each batch will comprise 35 persons, with an allocated budget of Rs 50,000 per training, covering food, honorarium for trainers and experts, and five climbing machines.