Overview
- Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wrote to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on December 16 seeking central assistance to launch an Integrated Coconut Development and Market Strengthening Programme.
- Andhra Pradesh cites fourth-place national standing in coconut area at about 1.08 lakh hectares, output of roughly 1,735 million nuts, and the country’s highest reported productivity of about 16,000 nuts per hectare.
- The proposal targets price instability and crop losses through modern tender-coconut market hubs modeled on Maddur, an integrated processing park, expanded nurseries with climate-resilient varieties, and stronger procurement and branding.
- Planned support includes subsidies for plantation development, drip irrigation, mechanisation, intercropping, post-harvest infrastructure, AI-based advisories, and drone-led monitoring and spraying for pest and disease management.
- State projections in the letter estimate farm-gate prices rising from about ₹11–15 to ₹35–40 per nut, climate and pest losses falling by 20–25%, creation of around 15,000 rural jobs, and positioning the state as a hub for value-added coconut products, with alignment sought under national schemes like Doubling Farmers’ Income and Atmanirbhar Bharat; a prior December 2 meeting by minister Nara Lokesh provided context.