Coconut Growers Give Up Farming

In another development, still in Tumakuru district, The Hindu also reported coconut growers in the district are giving up coconut farming altogether and turning to dairy farming or the garment industry, despite candidates wooing them with promises of waiving off their loans and better prices for produce ahead of the Assembly elections.  

A majority of farmers in Tumakuru district are dependent primarily on coconut farming for their livelihood.  However, drought has seen a drastic change in fortunes over the past four years, as coconut trees have been hit by lack of water, diseases and pests. The 2017 rains were not sufficient to recharge the groundwater table, which had depleted due to continuous drought and drilling of borewells in previous years, the report said.   B.S. Devaraj, State secretary of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sanga, said 50% of coconut trees have dried up and the yield has decreased by 40%. “Around 15% of coconut trees have stopped yielding any fruit,” he added.