Assam’s Ambitious Coconut Dream: Celebrating World Coconut Day with Pride | Guwahati News
Assam Aims to Double Coconut Productivity to Match Andhra Pradesh
Guwahati: On World Coconut Day, Assam’s officials and farmers faced a critical challenge—doubling the state’s coconut productivity to rival Andhra Pradesh, the national leader with 15,964 nuts per hectare. Coconut, cultivated on 21.03 thousand hectares in Assam, suffers from low productivity, leading to reliance on South Indian states for supply. The Coconut Development Board (CDB) emphasized adopting high-quality seedlings and better management practices as remedies.
During the event, about 100 coconut growers from various Assam districts, along with senior officials from central and state governments, participated in training sessions and activities. Agricultural scientists from the Horticulture Research Station in Kahikuchi, supported by Assam Agricultural University, conducted training on scientific crop management. The event also featured the distribution of high-quality seedlings, a coconut-based exhibition, and a competition on coconut-derived food products.
Key speakers included Rajat Kumar Pal, Director of CDB’s Guwahati regional office, and Tej Prasad Bhusal, Director of Horticulture and Food Processing, Assam. They highlighted the need for improved management, emphasizing issues like inadequate watering and manure usage. NABARD’s Chief General Manager, Loken Das, stressed coconut’s socio-cultural significance and economic potential in Assam.
Experts like Rajesh Kumar from ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute and Pradip Mahanta from Kahikuchi’s Horticulture Research Station underscored the importance of quality planting materials and a technological roadmap to enhance productivity. Alpana Das, Scientist in Charge at CPCRI’s Guwahati center, advocated for farmer aggregation models such as Farmer Producer Organizations to strengthen farmers’ negotiating power.
World Coconut Day, observed on September 2, commemorates the establishment of the International Coconut Community, with India as a founding member. The event, jointly organized by CDB India and Kahikuchi Horticulture Research Station, aimed to spotlight the economic importance of the coconut crop, urging a collective resolve to boost Assam’s productivity to national competitive levels.
Original Story https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/world-coconut-day-assam-aims-high-in-coconut/articleshow/113000227.cms
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