The State government is making efforts to put the Coconut Producer Companies (CPC) back on their feet as part of reviving the Neera project, Minister for Agriculture P. Prasad has said.
At a media interaction organised on Thursday by the Farm Information Bureau ahead of the VAIGA agricultural expo which begins here on Saturday, Mr. Prasad said that the State Budget had earmarked ₹1 crore for revitalising the companies. The ambitious project had been plagued by a bevy of problems, pushing the producer companies into huge losses.
The problems related to marketing, shelf life of the products, packaging and standardisation, Mr. Prasad said.
According to the 2023-24 Plan Document, the ₹1-crore allocation will be used to ‘‘wipe off a part of their interest burden and bring the viable companies back to business.’‘
Credit worthiness hit
The CPCs had availed themselves of loans from institutional sources at a ‘‘higher rate of interest’‘ for infrastructure development. Owing to the fall in business due to various reasons, including the pandemic, they could not repay the loans, affecting their credit worthiness. The Plan Document further noted that only potentially viable CPCs will be eligible for this assistance for interest subvention.
Speaking on human-wildlife conflict and its impact on the farm sector, Mr. Prasad called for a detailed study on the reasons for wild animals leaving forest regions. Lack of food and water was a major reason for the animals leaving their natural habitats and venturing outside, he pointed out. The Agriculture department was providing protection to farmers through the installation of solar fences and similar measures, he said.
The Farm Information Bureau made a presentation on the schemes and initiatives of the Agriculture department.
Agriculture secretary and Agricultural Production Commissioner B. Ashok and Agriculture director Anju K.S. were present.
