MARGAO: Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai has informed the government would come up with a new scheme to promote coconut cultivation in the State.

Acknowledging that labour intensive agriculture is not feasible in Goa, Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai said the choice was to change to new agricultural practices including hybrid varieties.

Speaking at a function held to mark the beginning of sale of coconuts at reasonable price by the Goa State Horticultural Corporation Ltd at Margao on Saturday, he said coconut tree is the identity of Goa and tourism has flourished because of it.

“We have been elected because of coconut as it was our symbol but it had become very expensive and that is why we have launched this scheme to provide coconuts at reasonable prices just before Diwali,” he said.

Informing that he was scheduled to visit the Naik plantation on Sunday where ‘Sampurna’ variety of coconut is grown, he said the government would revise the subsidy for planting this type of coconut which begins yielding within four years and is of a dwarf variety thereby eliminating the dependence on a plucker to harvest the coconuts.

Replying to a question, he said the government would also consider planting coconut trees along the roadside as it has now been decided to plant fruit bearing and flowering trees on the road sides. “There was an issue of harvesting the coconuts but that should not be an issue with the dwarf variety,” he said.

“Fish, curry and rice is supposed to be Goa’s staple diet and unfortunately we are not self sufficient in any of the three and it is time for us to become self sufficient at least in coconut,” he said pointing that coconuts from other States are not coming to Goa due to the drought prevailing there that has not only reduced the crop but even killed coconut trees.

GSHCDL Managing Director Madhav Kelkar disclosed that initially coconuts would be sold at Margao and Panjim and the nuts sold being from the Agriculture Department’s farms. “We shall start procuring from landlords and then sell at other places too,” he said adding that the corporation had similarly intervened to control the prices of tur dal and onions in the past.

Nelson Figueredo, the new Agriculture Director lamented that coconut prices had gone up to Rs 40 per nut and assured that the corporation will sell coconuts at prices that are reasonable giving a small margin to the corporation to cover their logistics cost.

Incidentally, Vijai quipped that the 16 trained pluckers available with the corporation were not sufficient but the officials lamented that people have taken the training and are not reporting for work even though they are insured for Rs 5 lakh in case of any eventuality.

Incidentally, the corporation provides pluckers at the rate of Rs 1400 per day during which they pluck 36 trees.