Association of Planters of Kerala (APK) has appreciated the initiatives taken by the State government in the revised budget for the benefit of the plantation sector.

“The importance of the plantations in the State has been identified in the budget speech and it is a marked change over the years,” said S.B.Prabhakar, Chairman, APK. It is to be noted that the government has identified the issues faced by the plantations and the long-standing demands of the sector have been taken up for further studies by providing necessary budgetary allocation, he said.

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The Minister, in his budget speech, has emphasised the need for diversification of plantation crops and has earmarked an amount of ₹2 crore for initial activities. He also mentioned about a mechanism for cultivation, procurement, storage and finding market for new fruit varieties such as Rambutan, Avocado and Dragon Fruit, Mangosteen, Longan etc in addition to traditional plantation crops.

APK Chairman said that concerned departments would take the initiative to conduct studies and discussions to formulate a policy within a short time to prepare a scheme in this regard. He said that plantation crops are cultivated in 7.12 lakh hectors area across Kerala. This is 27.5 per cent of the total cultivated area.

Likewise, the planters body hailed the decision to allocate ₹2 crore to strengthen the Plantation Directorate. Prabhakar said that the budget mentioned about the farming of plantation crops, which has become unattractive, affecting the living standards of thousands of workers. The Minister called for providing special attention for the development and administrative matters of the plantation sector.

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