FNB News - Coconut Board initiates concept to cut cost, optimise processing value

You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here

TOP NEWS

Coconut Board initiates concept to cut cost, optimise processing value

Wednesday, 21 August, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru

Coconut Development Board (CDB), Karnataka, is now working to form the Coconut Producers Society (CPS) in an effort to reduce the cost of cultivation of this fruit and start processing units to maximise its value. The initiative was driven in a bid to augment the coconut production.

Each CPS is a conglomerate of farmers where every grower should have 10 coconut yielding trees. The CPS by associating 40-100 coconut growers in a contiguous area with 5,000 palms will seek a legal status through a registration under Charitable Societies Act followed by the Coconut Development Board in each district.

Twenty such CPS will form a Coconut Producers Federation (CPF), which will have a total of one lakh palms. Currently, Karnataka has registered 90 CPSs where 51 are from Tumkur, four from Hassan, 17 from Chitradurga, three from Mysore and 15 from Ramanagaram. The leading coconut growing districts also include Udupi, Mandya and Hassan. In fact 28 of the 30 districts in Karnataka are suitable for coconut cultivation. We have covered 13 districts and are looking to add on another 10,000 acre of trees. The whole concept is built around the Amul (Anand Milk Union Ltd) brand, Dr TI Mathewkutty, director, Coconut Development Board, told FnB News.

The objective is to ensure socio-economic ‘upliftment’ of the farmers through productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient collective marketing, processing and product diversification. A farmer equity contribution is proposed. A matching equity contribution will be sought from the state government as a one-time assistance for making the CPS effective.

Further, the model facilitates sustainability, development of coconut processing infrastructure, improved mechanisation, realisation of better pricing and reduction of wastages, product diversification, according to him.

There are regular meetings to discuss the collective purchase of all inputs, effective pooling of labour synchronising harvesting, creation of logistics and generation of rural employment. There is scope to increase exports, with value-added coconut processed products including oil, milk and powders.

“Now 10 such CPFs can form one company and our target is to ensure 10 companies are created by March 31, 2014. So far Karnataka did not have a single government-owned coconut company but there were private players in the space. Therefore this model is a big boost to the coconut growers of the state,” he said.

Both Central and state governments are chipping in financial assistance. Under the Technology Mission for Coconut Processing, Rs 50 lakh is offered which is limited to 25 per cent of the cost of investment.

Also research efforts are encouraged for coconut processing units wherein the University of Agricultural Sciences, DFRL, CFTRI and Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) and state horticulture department would chip in with their expertise. In addition under the Friends of Coconut Tree (FOCT) programme training is offered on tree climbing, according to Dr Mathewkutty.