Chennai: Coming to the rescue of the coconut growers in Tamil Nadu, the government has announced that fine grade copra would be procured at Rs. 90 to 95 per kg.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) would procure the copra through the regulated markets at the minimum support price.
Coconut is grown in about 21 districts including Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Thanjavur, Dindigul and Kanyakumari on about 4.36 hectares land. On an average an estimated 2.06 lakh metric ton copra are produced every year. Normally, there will be an increase in production from June to November.
At present, the procurement price of copra in the open market has drastically reduced to Rs. 82 per kilo.
The farmers have been the worst affected due to unstable prices in the market. Taking into account their concerns, the government has announced a mini- mum procurement price.
According to coconut farmers, if the copra is procured at MSP, they could use it for value addition like making oil and oil cake - residue after oil extraction, can be given to farmers as fodder for a nominal price.
