MADURAI
A section of coconut farmers from across the district staged a demonstration seeking minimum support price for coconuts as the fluctuating costs have led to heavy losses, here on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu Coconut Farmers Association President, P. Nagendran, who owns an acre in Samayanallur, said that 12 of his 100 trees fell prey to drought in the last one year but the government did not provide any subsidy for those in need.
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Coconut farmers in the region are primarily around Sholavandan, Melur and Alanganallur. While one extreme wing of farmers is facing drought, farmers from Melur said they were deeply affected by Cyclone Gaja.
“In the last one year, at least three lakh trees have fallen prey to these extreme weather condition. It is impossible to sustain a livelihood with these swinging prices. We need a minimum support price,” he said.
“The price of broken coconuts must be fixed at ₹ 51 and those used as copra for ₹ 120 so we can continue farming,” he said.
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Currently coconuts are sold at ₹ 6.10. Prices in their hay days used to be between ₹ 9 and ₹ 10, a farmer from Thenkarai added.
Mr. Nagendran said that the State government must provide a compensation of ₹ 10,000 for each tree that fell last year. He added that drip irrigation must be provided free by the Department of Agriculture for all farmers.
“A wing of the Coconut Development Board (CDB) must be established in Tamil Nadu so that farmers can get their grievances redressed,” he said.