Mahuva: Farmers living along Gujarat’s coast are turning adversities into opportunities. Facing severe salinity ingress and shortage of farm labourers, large number of agriculturists have turned to coconut farming.

What’s more. The coconut plantation in Gujarat has more than doubled in the last 10 years and the state has pipped Kerala in productivity of this drupe. As per data of the Coconut Development Board (CDB), the area under coconut plantation in Gujarat has increased from 14,650 hectares (ha) in 2005-2006 to 31,000 ha in 2015-2106. The productivity here is 9,328 nuts per ha as compared to 7,535 nuts per ha in Kerala!

“There has been a significant shift from traditional crops like sugarcane and groundnut to coconut in the last decade. Due to severe labour shortage and salinity ingress, farmers have taken to growing coconut. In four years, one coconut tree yields Rs 3,000 to the farmer,” said Dr A R Pathak, vice-chancellor, Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU), told TOI.

JAU had developed a hybrid variety of coconut in 2006 which starts giving fruits early and in large quantity compared to conventional seeds.

“Gujarat has huge potential for coconut plantation because of its coastline and favourable climate. Our coconut research station in Mahuva provides seedlings to farmers every year but demand is so high that we are finding it difficult to cope up,” said Pathak.

Dr P K Kapadiya, research scientist at JAU Mahuva , said, “If farmers follow the scientific advisory, they can earn as much as Rs 7 lakh per hectare.”

With coconut farming becoming increasingly popular, chorus is growing for setting up CDB’s regional office here. The demand has been pending since 2011 with the central government.

“Coconut growers only sell the fruit in retail or wholesale. Setting up of CDB office will immensly help in value addition to the product,” said Parag Tejura , president, Saurashtra Vepar Udhyog Mahamandal, an apex body of industries in Saurashtra and Kutch.

