Coconut Board Charts New Course to Boost Production

Subsidy for coconut nurseries, seed gardens and cluster-based productivity enhancement scheme among slew of measures mooted

- Manoj Viswanathan @ 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, 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 ₹2.5 lakh for equipment and mobility support.

"Though we spend ₹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."