Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Coconut & Copra Coconut growers urged to opt for inter-crops Our Bureau
Coimbatore, Aug 1 WHILE the area under coconut is witnessing rapid expansion (at 25,000 hectares per year) in the last two years, there has been no comparative increase in nut production, the Chairperson of the Coconut Development Board, Ms Minnie Mathew, has said. The area expansion, she observed, was only outside Kerala in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu (to some extent). "There is no land available in Kerala. Karnataka has witnessed a drought-like situation in the last two years. So even here, the response has not been great," she told reporters, on the sidelines of a one-day seminar on `Coconut for Health', organised by the Board at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. She said the Board was concentrating on "compact area approach" to increase the income of the coconut grower. "We encourage the growers to go for inter-crops in coconut farms. This not only rejuvenates the soil but help raise the income for the grower. It has been successfully tried in Kerala," she said and suggested cultivation of seasonal vegetable crops, nutmeg and pepper, banana and tapioca among others. The Board has noted a 23 per cent increase in productivity level in such group approach. She voiced concern about the steep decline in the price of the coconut oil after May, consequent to the availability of substitute oils such as palm oil at cheaper rates.
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