S.K. Malhotra, Horticulture Commissioner, has said that concerted efforts are essential to expand the area under cocoa cultivation in India.
Inaugurating a national seminar on the cocoa cultivation, held under the aegis of the University of Agriculture and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga, and the Directorate of Cocoa and Cashew Development (DCCD) here on Friday, he said the total annual production of cocoa in India stood at 17,000 metric tonnes against the demand for 30,000 metric tonnes. To bridge up the gap between demand and supply, it had been planned to undertake a massive expansion of the area under cocoa cultivation. The access to quality planting material to farmers was necessary to ensure success of the expansion programme, he said.
The regional station of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) at Vittal and the Kerala Agricultural University had developed nine high-yield varieties of cocoa. It had been planned to distribute these quality planting material among farmers through private nurseries. A system of providing accreditation to private nurseries that provided quality planting material would be evolved, he said.
The companies engaged in the production of confectioneries should also join hands with the government in ensuring success of the area expansion programme. Companies should voluntarily enter into buy-back agreements with farmers engaged in cocoa cultivation or cooperative societies engaged in procurement and processing of cocoa, he said.
Mr. Malhotra appealed to the confectionery firms to promote study and research on diversification of their product portfolio. Possibilities of preparing chocolates by adding spices and fruits should be explored. Diversification of products and value-addition activities would increase the demand for cocoa and thereby the farmers would be benefited. . He stressed on the need for research on processing and fermentation of cocoa.
P. Chowdappa, Director of CPCRI, in his address said that it was possible to improve the economic status of farmers by motivating them to cultivate cocoa in arecanut and coconut plantations as a mixed crop. By accommodating cocoain arecanut and coconut plantations, it was possible to control weed growth and retain moisture content in soil. The leaves of cocoa plant would serve as a rich manure for the main crop, he said.
Venkatesh Hubballi, Director of DCCD, and C. Vasudevappa, Vice-Chancellor of UAHS, Shivamogga, were present.
Only 17,000 metric tonnes of cocoa is produced in India against a demand for 30,000 metric tonnes
