‘Take up value-addition in coconut farming to ensure better returns’

Value-addition of coconuts in many forms through farmer producer companies is the way to revive coconut cultivation to ensure better returns, Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Agriculture Department, has said.

Coconut oil, coconut shell, activated carbon, coconut fibre, etc. could be the best options to start with through branding, he said, while interacting with Theeradesa Nalikera Ulpadaka Federation (consortium of coconut farmers) in Ezhupunna village at Cherthala in Alappuzha.

Likhi called upon the State government to take steps to ensure that the benefits of all agricultural schemes/programmes/projects reach the intended target beneficiaries. He also emphasized the need by the Coconut Development Board to ensure extensive publicity of the work being done by the apex coconut federations.

According to him, the three-tier pyramidal structure of FPOs promoted by the Coconut Development Board was innovative, considering the charitable nature of lower-level collectives and the formation of a company under the Companies Act at the apex Level.

The Coconut Producers Society at the grassroots level, Coconut Producers Federation at the intermediate level and Coconut Producers Company at the apex level enables more participation and involvement of farmers to form smaller groups and plan activities at different levels based on the level of farmer collectives.

Consortium of 761 members

The Theeradesa Nalikera Utpadaka Federation is a consortium of eight coconut producer societies with 761 members. They have 41,722 palms with a productivity of nearly 11 lakh nuts per year. Major activities include establishment of coconut nurseries and production of quality planting materials.

Likhi was apprised of the federation’s training programmes for various coconut farmer groups on intercrop cultivation of turmeric and ginger. Planting materials of the inter-crops were arranged for farmers and detailed packages of practices were also given to ensure adoption of the practices.

Likhi also highlighted various schemes and programmes of central agencies under the Agriculture Ministry. The officials of the federation informed him of plans to scale up activities and sought the help of the government and CDB to form a producer company.

Likhi instructed the CDB officials to extend all support to the federation to form the company as per provisions contained in the New Central Sector Scheme ‘Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisation’.

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