Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar has promised all efforts on the part of the State government to address the concerns of coconut farmers at Nadapuram who recently faced hardships with the destruction of several coconut trees in the adverse climate and infestation of various diseases.
After visiting some of the worst-hit coconut groves on Monday, the Minister said steps would be taken to clear all the infested trees with a special government aid to reduce the chances of further spread of the disease. The current compensation amount of Rs.700 per tree would be increased to Rs.1,000, he added.
Organic pesticides
He directed officials from the Agriculture Department to check the possibility of supplying essential organic pesticides to farmers to combat the disease in the region. The department would give high-yielding coconut saplings to replace the disease-hit trees.
E.K. Vijayan, MLA, who drew the Minister’s attention to the issue and requested him to visit the groves, said the farmers’ concerns would be duly addressed by the government with a suitable compensation package.
“The Minister has given us a solid assurance on the same and the details of the package would be finalised in discussions with the scientists and officials from the Agriculture Department,” he said.
Agriculture Department Secretary Raju Narayana Swami, Director Asok Kumar and scientists from the Kerala Agriculture University were present during the visit of the Minister.
Infested trees to be
replaced with high-yielding saplings
Compensation of Rs.700 per tree to be increased to Rs.1,000
