INSIDE KERALA ASSEMBLY

Agriculture minister attempts to use Onmanorama report to wriggle out of tough situation

Thiruvananthapuram: On Wednesday, agriculture minister P Prasad was pushed to the backfoot by Muslim League's Tirur MLA Kurukkoli Moideen in the Assembly. Moideen was moving an adjournment motion on the plight of coconut farmers in Kerala.

He reeled out figures to show that coconut farming was withering away in Kerala and that the state was losing to neighbours like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In five years (from 2015-16 to 2022-23), Moideen said the area under coconut cultivation fell from 790.22 to 760.35 hectares. Production fell from 5873 coconuts per hectare to 5642 coconuts per hectare. The fall was so steep and alarming that he said a quarter century ago Kerala's coconut productivity was 14,000 nut per hectare. 

Prasad did not counter any of these numbers but took refuge in a 2023 Onmanorama report that industries minister P Rajeeve had also held up in the last Assembly session. The agriculture minister used the Onmanorama report to prove his government's commitment to coconut farmers.

"In the very same floor, the industries minister had pointed to a report that came in Onmanorama, about how the oil industry in Kangeyam, in Tamil Nadu's Tirupur district, was destroyed by Kerala government's proactive policies," the minister said in the Assembly.

He then quoted a snatch  from the report: "When 1,077 coconut oil mills were started, another 1,212 coconut drying units -- mostly electric dryers -- also came up in Kerala in the same period." The minister said that there were now over 2000 oil mills in Kerala. Prasad also spoke of the success of Kodiyathur Service Cooperative Bank as stated in the Onmanorama report. The report had said that the mill started by the CPM-controlled bank had to upgrade its production capacity from 3000 litres in 2000 to 10,000 litres. "It is clear from this report that the government is taking adequate steps to improve the life of coconut farmers," the minister said.

However, Moideen's and later Opposition Leader V D Satheesan's main contention was that the government was not procuring coconuts from farmers. "You have stopped procurement since December last. The mobile procurement unit was stopped even before, by May. And since October, farmers are not being paid money for the nuts procured," Moideen said. Satheesan said no procurement worth its name had taken place in the four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21.

But the agriculture minister, citing the Onmanorama report, said that it was the increase in procurement by Kerafed that led to the shut down oil mills in Kangeyam. The Onmanorama report but states it was only half the story.

It noted that procurement was done from only a fraction of coconut farmers in Kerala. "The copra and oil market in Kangayam was majorly disrupted because of the Kerala government's 'Year of Enterprises' campaign, launched to help start 1 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in 2022-2023," the Onmanorama report says. This was the triumph of the Industries Department. The UDF's charge against the Agriculture Department, that it was not procuring enough, therefore stays.

Clearly, the minister has selectively used the Onmanorama report to advance his case.