Housing consumes coconut triangle, leading to low nuts

• Approximately 200 million nuts are destroyed each year by animals such as monkeys and squirrels which is a huge loss also to farmers cultivating coconut
• The productivity of the harvest of coconut from the lands is low compared to other countries, Sri Lanka produces 47-50 nuts per tree, however, India produces 80-100 nuts per tree

By Huzefa Aliasger

The coconut triangle which is located in Kurunegala, Gampaha and Puttalam where coconut cultivation is done has been converted to housing lands which is against the law according to the Tea, Rubber and Coconut Estates (Control of Fragmentation) Act which states Partition by Deed of a tea, rubber or coconut estate to be null and void in certain circumstances, an official from the Coconut Development Authority said.

According to the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, the annual coconut production in the country today ranges from 2,800 to 3,000 million nuts. To satisfy the demand for both domestic consumption and the processing industry, Sri Lanka must achieve the annual production target of 4,000 million nuts.
“The law which was not adhered to and not justified is one of the reasons coconuts are not produced to its maximum,” the Chairman of the Coconut Development Authority Shantha Ranathunga told Daily Mirror.
The chairman also mentioned that it has been agreed by all relevant divisions to not extend the lands for developing coconut further and to focus on getting maximum harvest from existing lands allocated to coconut. “The productivity of the harvest of coconut from the lands is low compared to other countries, Sri Lanka produces 47-50 nuts per tree, however, India produces 80-100 nuts per tree, this is due to the use of modern technology for farming and better fertilizers. We should work to solve that issue” Shantha said.

Approximately 200 million nuts are destroyed each year by animals such as monkeys and squirrels which is a huge loss also to farmers cultivating coconut. Animal safety is a sensitive topic and the authorities are still in discussion around a solution to this problem, Shantha Ranathunga said.

Shantha further mentioned that proposals to allow imports of coconut during the coconut shortage crisis are being made and the CDA urges the government to relax imports and asks the Plant Quarantine Service which disallows the import of any plants without prior approval to reassess whether the import of coconut is harmful.