The State government has decided to establish a directorate of plantations to revive the sector and to give a fresh impetus to employment generation.
Minister for Employment T.P. Ramakrishnan told a press conference here on Tuesday that the proposed plantation directorate would work under the Department of Employment with personnel drawn from it initially.
He was speaking after a day-long workshop on the draft of a plantation policy for the State. The workshop was organised under the aegis of Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment.
He said that trade liberalisation and duty-free imports had hit the plantation sector badly in the State. At least a lakh, out of the 3.5 lakh, people employed in the plantation sector had gone out of it due to the economic problems. There were 24 plantations in the public sector. A meeting of the stakeholders would be convened before the plantation policy was finalised. It was the aim of the government to revive the plantations and regenerate employment opportunities, the Minister said.
Work to create a coffee and a tea brand was under way. Coffee from Wayanad would be sold under a specially created brand just as tea produced in Kerala would be sold under another brand to make a more market impact, he said. A CIAL (Cochin International Airport Limited) model company would be established to help the rubber sector. A large rubber factory was on the anvil to help the rubber plantations and farmers in the State, the Minister added.
