A host of presentations highlighted new technology and marketing of coconut at Cocotech-2012, the 45 international conference on coconut here on Tuesday.
Jointly organized by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) and the Coconut Development Board (CDB), the five-day meet which saw more than 200 delegates from about 20 countries participate, will conclude on July 6.
Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K. V. Thomas, who inaugurated the meet on Monday, called for measures for consolidation of farmers and encouraging them to adopt integrated management practices and farm level processing.
Aggregation of farmers would lead to availability of raw materials at competitive rates and trigger farm level processing, he said.
The minister said more importance should be given to dwarf and hybrid varieties of coconut palms.
The sector should attract entrepreneurs.
Coconut in its varied forms should invariably become part of the diet wherever it is not in use so as to help eliminate malnutrition and under-nourishment prevalent in lower strata of society.
Mr.Thomas said though the coconut sector is beset with many problems, there are many strengths and opportunities.
Several Indian products such as virgin coconut oil, packaged tender coconut water and activated carbon command good demand in the international market.
Tender coconut water, emerging as the natural health drink of the world, has great export potential.
Coconut Development Board has developed the technology for hygienic packaging of tender coconut water and several other products.
All stakeholders should take advantage of the opportunity so that the country figures in the forefront in all areas. Noting that coconut in India is a crop of small and marginal farmers, he said about 98 per cent of coconut holdings in the country are less than 2 hectares.
The average size of coconut holding in Kerala is only 0.2 hectare.
Sustainability of the coconut industry is of paramount importance to provide price stability and remunerative price to farmers.
Addressing the meeting, Romulo N. Arancon, Executive Director, APCC, said volatility of prices and climate change were of concern to coconut farmers. Systematic and well funded planting, inter-cropping and rejuvenation programme should be adopted to increase productivity, he said.
Ashish Bahuguna, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, said forward linkages in the sector would help improve livelihood of farmers, mostly in the marginal category.
Though coconut oil had been considered by some as an unhealthy one, certain recent findings had brought forth the nutraceutical and medicinal properties.
Food and Agriculture Organisation has cautioned the growers that climate change might significantly impact coconut productivity, he said.
K. Jayakumar, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, voiced concern over migration of farmers to plantation crops and called for more research in the sector.
He also lauded the measures being taken by the CDB to improve production and productivity. S. Damodaran, Minister of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu, made an appeal to scientists to identify new technologies and genes for coconut development.
