Poor infra seen to spoil coconut procurement plan
Kerala co-operation minister G Sudhakaran is the latest knight-in-armor to attempt to save the coconut farm sector in the state.
By ET Bureau |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala co-operation minister G Sudhakaran is the latest knight-in-armor to attempt to save the coconut farm sector in the state, announcing plans to procure raw coconuts from farmers from January to arrest the fall in price of coconut.
The noble intention, however, will be up against steep odds in the face of poor processing infrastructure and the disorganized nature of coconut farmers in the state, say observers.
While procurement of raw coconuts is scheduled to begin next month, the state-level agencies that will be involved in the process were unable to provide any details of the programme.
The state government’s objective is to get better returns for coconut farmers, who are presently witnessing a steady dip in the price of raw nuts, with raw coconut price in some places in the state dipping below that of eggs.
The two key reasons that stand in the way of better price realization for coconut farmers, observers say, are the lack of infrastructure to process raw coconuts and the disorganized nature of small farmers in the state.
The vast majority of coconut growers in the state sell raw nuts and only about 5% resort to processing coconuts and selling copra. This would make the government’s decision to procure raw nuts attractive to the growers, but the lack of enough driers to process raw nuts is considered a serious handicap to procuring raw nuts in large quantities.
Official said there was no ceiling on volumes set for raw coconut procurement in the new season beginning January, but added that the fact that most farmers functioned in an unorganized manner and were content in selling raw nuts to local traders made the prospects for large-scale procurement quite bleak.
As against the Nafed offer of Rs 12 per kg for de-husked raw coconuts, the state government is offering Rs 12.50 per kg, but the announcement is not expected to appeal to many growers, considering their inclination towards selling to local traders rather than pool raw nuts through co-operative societies, say observers.
The noble intention, however, will be up against steep odds in the face of poor processing infrastructure and the disorganized nature of coconut farmers in the state, say observers.
While procurement of raw coconuts is scheduled to begin next month, the state-level agencies that will be involved in the process were unable to provide any details of the programme.
The state government’s objective is to get better returns for coconut farmers, who are presently witnessing a steady dip in the price of raw nuts, with raw coconut price in some places in the state dipping below that of eggs.
The two key reasons that stand in the way of better price realization for coconut farmers, observers say, are the lack of infrastructure to process raw coconuts and the disorganized nature of small farmers in the state.
The vast majority of coconut growers in the state sell raw nuts and only about 5% resort to processing coconuts and selling copra. This would make the government’s decision to procure raw nuts attractive to the growers, but the lack of enough driers to process raw nuts is considered a serious handicap to procuring raw nuts in large quantities.
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Official said there was no ceiling on volumes set for raw coconut procurement in the new season beginning January, but added that the fact that most farmers functioned in an unorganized manner and were content in selling raw nuts to local traders made the prospects for large-scale procurement quite bleak.
As against the Nafed offer of Rs 12 per kg for de-husked raw coconuts, the state government is offering Rs 12.50 per kg, but the announcement is not expected to appeal to many growers, considering their inclination towards selling to local traders rather than pool raw nuts through co-operative societies, say observers.
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