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Coconut for Good Health theme of World Coconut Day celebrations in India
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Wednesday, 05 September, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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Coconut for Good Health, Wealth and Wellness was the theme for this year’s World Coconut Day, which was celebrated recently to commemorate the formation of the Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), an inter-governmental organisation of 18 member nations mandated to promote, coordinate and harmonise coconut development activities in the region to achieve maximum economic development.
India is one of the founder members of APCC. Under the leadership of the Central government, the Coconut Development Board celebrates Coconut Day in a coconut-producing state every year.
Radha Mohan Singh, minister of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Government of India, said, “The coconut palm, or the Kalpavriksha, is nature's great boon for the healthy and wealthy life of mankind.”
“Coconut is known to have been cultivated for thousands of years in our country and is an inevitable part of our culture and tradition, religious and social practices, folklore, food and drink,” he added.
“In folklore, coconut is the fruit which provides nutrition and is our heritage and legacy. The tree is mankind’s true friend and a symbol of national integration,” Singh said.
India ranks first in global coconut production and productivity. The annual coconut production of the country is 2,437.80 crore and the productivity is 11,616 coconuts per hectare.
The crop is cultivated in 20.98 lakh hectare. The crop contributes Rs 34,100 crore to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Over one crore people depend on this crop for their livelihood.
Singh informed that the National Horticulture Mission was implementing various aspirational schemes for the integrated development of coconut in the country and through these schemes, farmers throughout the country get updated on scientific coconut cultivation, product processing, marketing and export.
The Coconut Development Board has made a significant contribution to the remarkable achievements made in the coconut industry in the country.
Coconut farmers can be led to prosperity only through value addition of coconut. For this, the Coconut Development Board is implementing the Technology Mission on Coconut programme, under which 480 coconut processing units have been established with a capacity to process 274 crore nuts per year.
The minister said, “After the Modi government was sworn in, the Board has taken up many new initiatives for the development of coconut in the country, and I have got the opportunity to be closely associated with this.”
“It is worth mentioning that 9,633 coconut producer societies, 740 coconut producer federations and 67 coconut producer companies have been established in the country.”
“I hope that all the schemes of the Board will be implemented through these farmer collectives and the farmers will assert their right over the processing, marketing and import of coconut products,” he added.
The Coconut Development Board has made laudable achievements under its skill development in the coconut sector, viz the Friends of Coconut Tree (FOCT) Training Programme and the Neera Technician Training Programme, and has given training to over 60,998 youths and 2,637 neera technicians.
The Board, through its various sponsored research programmes, has brought before the world the goodness of not only coconut oil, but also tender coconut and other coconut products.
It is known that coconut oil, which has medium-chain fatty acids, is disease-resistant and heart-friendly, and virgin coconut oil can prevent premature ageing.
Research has shown that virgin coconut oil is effective in curing diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Sigh urged the people to take up this sacred fruit, which is the identity of Indian tradition and culture, and enjoy the innumerable benefits of this fruit for the wellness of our families.
The government has increased the minimum support price of milling copra from Rs 6,500 per quintal to Rs 7,511 per quintal and for ball copra from Rs 6,785 per quintal to Rs 7,757 per quintal.
Not only this, the government has declared an incentive of up to five per cent in the export value (FOB) in its new Foreign Trade Policy for 2015-20 for the promotion of coconut product export.
A quantum leap in the export of coconut products is expected in the near future, as the prices of coconut products are increasingly becoming highly competitive.
The income earned from export of coconut products was Rs 3,975 crore between 2004 and 2014, which increased to Rs 6,448 crore between 2014 and 2018.
With the efforts of the Modi Government, India has started exporting coconut oil to Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Till last year, India used to import coconut oil from these countries. Besides, for the first time, India is exporting large quantities of dry coconut to the United States and European countries.
Singh said that he was confident that the farmers will avail the benefits of the schemes implemented by the Board and will take forward the coconut cultivation and industry for their better health, wealth and wellness.
The Coconut Development Board, with its whole-hearted efforts, will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the dreams of the farmers and beneficiaries.
India will become the global leader in not only the production and productivity of coconut, but also in processing and export, and the innumerable qualities of coconut will emerge.
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