Coconut growers in Tamil Nadu have reasons to cheer as the State government has set in motion a procurement plan that offers them a clear market and a good price for copra.
The Agricultural Prices Commission has fixed Rs. 59.50 as the support price this year as against the market price of Rs. 50 a kg. The growers want the State government to announce an incentive in addition to the support price that it is passing on from the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) as of now.
The State Government on Thursday decided to reach out to the coconut growers who were finding it difficult to sell copra even at Rs. 50 a kg. Following requests from coconut growers, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced that the State government would procure copra at Rs. 59.59 a kg through cooperative institutions directly from producers. Procurement centres will function from June 15 for the next six months in districts where coconut was a major crop.
Ms. Jayalalithaa, in a press release, said she was fulfilling another of her poll promises.
Harried coconut growers have welcomed the development and thanked Ms. Jayalalithaa for stepping in at a crucial time when the private buyers were fleecing them. “We could not sell our produce for even Rs. 50 a kg and we were at the mercy of the mega private traders. We could not recover even half of the production cost and were struggling when the Chief Minister ordered procurement of copra at Rs. 59.50 a kg. This will force the private players to increase the prices,” said a palm grove owner T. Rajamanikkam of Pattukkottai.
“While we welcome the development in one angle, we are disappointed with the price offered. We want the State government to add an incentive to the NAFED price on the lines of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telengana, and other States so that the growers benefit a little better,” urges Tamil Nadu Coconut Growers’ Association president Kuruvikkarambai A. Palanivel. One kg of copra will contain around eight good quality nuts.
As per the Coconut Development Board findings the production cost of a coconut works out to Rs. 12 and now one could easily understand the cost disparity in copra production and procurement. “We want the State government to give us an incentive of at least Rs. 10 per kg,” says Mr. Palanivel, a former Coconut Development Board member.
“Last year, copra fetched them around Rs. 100 a kg and the growers did not require State intervention but this year the market has not been kind to us giving us only half that price,” he says.
Vendankottai Nasuviniyar Bed Dam Farmers' Association president and coconut grower V. Veerasenan says the cost of a coconut had gone up considerably over the years but the growers weare left at the mercy of the traders. While it is good that the State government is intervening in copra procurement, an incentive of at least Rs. 10 a kg would have reduced the burden of growers, he said.
The State government must encourage value addition of coconut as there were more than 100 opportunities for value addition in coconut. Export of coconut to especially the Gulf could get remunerative prices for growers, Mr. Veerasenan says.
