THIRUVANANTHAPURAM The State government will step up the procurement of raw coconut from farmers, Minister for Agriculture P. Prasad said on Wednesday.
In all, 53 collection centres have been opened across Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur districts where market prices have fallen below the base price. At present, procurement at ₹32 a kg is carried out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As much as 206 tonnes of raw coconut have been procured so far and steps taken to disburse ₹66 lakh to the farmers, Mr. Prasad said.
The money is deposited directly to the farmer's bank account. Farmers who are registered on the Agriculture Information Management System (AIMS) portal can take dehusked coconut to the collection centres with a certificate issued by the Agriculture Office concerned.
