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Considering the persistent market uncertainties, experts have underlined the need for adopting a comprehensive policy package for plantation crops like rubber, tea, coffee and cardamom.
As a long-term perspective, they suggested some guidelines, which encompass reconstruction of official databases, optimisation of crop harvesting expenses, promotion of producers’ consortia and duty free imports.
To address the issues confronting the sector, K Tharian George, former Joint Director of Rubber Research Institute of India, suggested that a comprehensive and reliable database providing information on the agro-climatic zone-wise status of planting materials, age composition of planted area, soil characteristics, weather parameters, etc is an essential pre-requisite for a realistic approach.
Speaking at the agri-business session at the 22nd Plantation Crops symposium at CPCRI, Kasargod, he said attempts to mechanise the harvesting operations have been tardy in terms of substantial reduction in the harvesting costs. Innovations in crop harvesting assume importance in the backdrop of uncertain farm gate prices determined by world market price movements.
He called for the promotion of producers consortia in the crop-specific context as an integrated marketing strategy both in primary and retail markets to enhance the share in the value chain. The focus should be on a comprehensive approach for improving farm income rather than the segmented approaches on price stabilisation schemes and farm management issues.
Tharian also highlighted some critical issues, which are posing serious R&D challenges to the plantation sector. This includes infirmities in the primary markets preventing the chances for improving the producers’ share in the value chain; and negative growth rate in productivity with crop specific variations.
The market uncertainties, according to him, have paralysed the conventional approaches towards a routine farm management practices and marketing that made a dent on farm income. Therefore, it is imperative to define and contextualise the core issues in a long-term policy perspective for the sustenance of the plantation sector.
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