Why in News?
Stakeholders' Meet (March 7, 2026): Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is currently leading a National Stakeholders' Meet at IIT Madras in Chennai to gather grassroots feedback and refine the scheme's implementation.
Key Features
- Primary Objective: To enhance coconut production and productivity through targeted interventions, ensuring India remains a global leader in the sector.
- Rejuvenation Strategy: A core focus is replacing old, non-productive trees with high-yielding, early-bearing, and climate-resilient varieties.
- Financial Allocation: The scheme is part of a broader ₹350 crore allocation targeting high-value crops, including coconut, cashew, cocoa, and sandalwood.
- Specific Subsidies:
- Under the revised Area Expansion Programme, the per-hectare subsidy has been significantly increased from ₹6,500 to ₹56,000 to incentivize new plantations.
- Subsidies for setting up coconut-based industries (e.g., virgin oil, coconut water) can reach up to 33.3% or ₹50 lakh.
- Support for Value Addition: Establishing integrated processing units to strengthen exports of value-added products like Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), desiccated powder, and coir pith.
- Technology & Modernization:
- Linking farmers to the Bharat-VISTAAR (AI-Advisory) platform for real-time nutrient and pest management.
- Promoting Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with up to 50% cost support.
- Implementing Agency: The Coconut Development Board (CDB), a statutory body under the Ministry of Agriculture, is the primary agency responsible for executing the scheme.
- Target Regions: Focused on major coconut-growing states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, while expanding into non-traditional areas like Gujarat and Assam.
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