Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 2 World Coconut Day is celebrated across the world on September 2. In India, it is Kerala which is known as the 'land of coconuts' and derives its name from 'Kera' meaning coconut tree which is now looking towards the Centre for more support to take the state to greater heights in coconut production.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who also has a keen interest in agriculture especially coconuts, told that things will speed up in this sector if the Centre extends its help with more coconut centric schemes.
"We got Rs 20 crore for the Kerala Agriculture University from the Centre to step up research on coconuts. Our government had planned to plant at least 2 crore seedlings by 2029 and of this 30 lakh are targeted to be produced by the end of the next calendar year," said Kumar.
The coconut has been in existence for over 3,000 years and today it is an important horticultural crop cultivated in 17 states and three Union Territories across the country, making India the largest producer of the fruit, accounting for 31 per cent of the world production.
In the country, the total area under coconut cultivation is 20.96 lakh hectares of which Kerala alone accounts for 7.60 lakh hectares.
Kerala stands first in the production of coconuts
( With inputs from IANS )
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