Coconut Development Board has officially launched “Hello Naariyal,” FoCT call centre which caters to the needs of farmers in coconut harvesting and other plant management practices.
The Hello Naariyal call centre in Kerala functions from the headquarters of the Board in Kochi. The initiative will not only benefit coconut growers of Kerala but will also extend its service to the traditional coconut-growing States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka through the respective unit offices of the Board.
A total of 1,924 FoCTs (Friends of Coconut Tree) have registered in the call centre and its services will be available at Block Grama Panchayat level in respective districts for carrying out activities related to coconut cultivation, including tree climbing, plant protection, harvesting, seed nut procurement, nursery management, etc. Coconut farmers can avail the services of FoCTs through the call centre.
The objective of the call centre is to improvise the activities of coconut sector by linking together the FoCT palm climbers with coconut farmers, farmer producer organisations, coconut entrepreneurs, and officials of various agriculture departments and institutions.
The Board said in a statement that skilled climbers interested in registering can do so through the call centre.