Farmers divided as govt shifts coconut cultivation to horticulture department

Trichy: Tamil Nadu government has issued an order shifting schemes and various programmes of coconut plantations being implemented by the agriculture department to the horticulture department According to the GO dated October 27, the administration of all 22 coconut nurseries, 16 coconut crossing centres and 20 coconut parasite breeding centres will be handed over to the horticulture department. Schemes implemented through Coconut Development Board with the help of state and union funds such as establishment of regional coconut nurseries, laying out of demonstration plots, replanting and rejuvenation, and crop insurance schemes will be governed by the horticulture department, the order says.Coconut growers are divided whether the shifting will be a boon or a bane. Tamil Nadu Coconut Farmers Association said the initiative would help farmers and related workforce to scale up their income-generation through value addition as the Union government has various schemes with required funds. “In most states, coconut plantations are already under horticulture department. So, the state government’s move will help coconut growers in several ways,” said association general secretary P S Masilamani.However, a section of coconut farmers appealed to the government to retain the crop under agriculture department. Nasuvini Riverbed Farmers Welfare Association president V Veerasenan said the agriculture department has the required number of field-level officials and staff to cater to their needs. “It is easy for farmers to consult them for technical advice like pest control and water management etc. Unlike agriculture department the horticulture department functions with limited staff,” he said. “They provide immediate access to various schemes and benefits from Coconut Development Board. So, the continuation of coconut under agricultural department will benefit farmers,” he said.The GO said that non-technical staff numbering 123, and 39 agriculture officers and 49 assistant agriculture officers also will be transferred to the horticulture department. However, agriculture officers and assistant agriculture officers working at coconut nurseries, coconut crossing centres and coconut parasite breeding centres will be shifted to vacant posts wherever available in the agriculture department.

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