Land fragmentation hits coconut cultivation

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

The annual loss of land due to fragmentation is 6,000 acres. As a result the loss of coconut production is nearly 400,000 nuts, Chairman Coconut Cultivation Board, Jayantha Gunathilake told the Sunday Observer.

He said the Plantation Industries Minister D. M. Jayarathne has instructed the Coconut Cultivation Board to obtain the annual quota of saplings needed after surveying the coconut lands in the country.

In Sri Lanka the annual demand for coconut saplings is around 1.6 million according to the Coconut Research Institute. The Coconut Cultivation Board Chairman said, three million saplings are needed to meet the demand. The Minister said that three million saplings are inadequate and efforts should be made to improve the methods of the process of nurturing saplings.

The home garden coconut cultivation programme, initiated by the Minister has 3,600,000 saplings. The annual production of coconuts is around 2,900 million nuts of which 80% is use for domestic consumption. He said since coconut cultivation has not improved during the past decade, there was a marked decline in coconut production.