Exploring Value Addition Opportunities in Tamil Nadu Amidst

Decreasing Coconut Prices

Shree Charan M., Jayanthi M. and V. Vijay Prabha

Dept. of Agriculture, KSAH, KARE, Krishnankoil, India

Keywords: Tamil Nadu, Falling Coconut Price, Value Addition, Maximizing the Economic Potential of Coconuts.

Abstract: Tamil Nadu, known for its rich agricultural heritage, has long been a significant contributor to India's coconut

production. However, recent years have seen a drop in coconut prices due to traditional practices and limited

value addition, posing substantial challenges to the region's coconut industry's economic survival. This study

investigates the potential for value addition in Tamil Nadu in response to decreases in coconut prices, with an

emphasis on improving the economic sustainability of coconut cultivation. The purpose of this study is to

analyse and propose strategies for maximizing the economic potential of coconuts in the state. According to

the findings of this survey, respondents have a limited awareness of value-added products, particularly

coconut oil, copra, and thatches. Unfortunately, most coconut growers are unaware of a wide range of value-

added goods, which presents a huge barrier to improving their livelihoods. This study also showcased the

scope of value addition in coconut and highlighted the constraints, technological needs, and suggestions

perceived by the coconut growers.

1 INTRODUCTION

The coconut palm, renowned for its versatility, thrives

in numerous countries situated within the equatorial

region. In the cultural and agricultural history of

India, the coconut palm, often referred to as

Kalpavriksha, has been cultivated since ancient times

(Mandal and Mandal, 2011). According to

International Coconut Community (ICC) Statistical

Year Book 2021, Coconut is grown in more than 93

countries in the world in an area of 12 million

hectares, with an annual production of 66,674 million

nuts (Coconut Development Board, n.d.a.). India is

the world's largest coconut-producing country,

accounting for approximately 31.45% of total output

in 2021-22, with a production of 19,247 million nuts.

More than 12 million people in India rely on the

coconut palm for food security and a living. Coconut

productivity at the national level was 9,123 nuts per

hectare in 2021-22, making it one of the highest in the

world (Indian Trade Portal,. n.d.). Despite being a

significant global producer of coconuts, India

allocates more than 50% of its annual coconut

production, which stands at 15.84 billion nuts, for

domestic consumption in its raw form, primarily for

culinary and religious purposes. A substantial portion,

35% of the total production, is dedicated to the

production of copra. Additionally, 11% is earmarked

for tender nuts, 2% for seed purposes and a mere 2%

is utilized for value addition and industrial

applications (Muralidharan, & Jayashree, 2011). This

allocation emphasizes the importance of enhancing

value in the coconut industry to generate increased

income for coconut farmers.

Tamil Nadu, with an annual coconut production of

5,091.83 million nuts across 0.44 million hectares

(Coconut Development Board,n.d.b), is currently

grappling with a decline in coconut prices, adversely

impacting the livelihoods of its farmers. Small farms

make up a sizable portion of all coconut holdings, and

current agricultural trends pose new challenges to

their viability and survival. These challenges include

low and fluctuating produce prices, rising input costs,

low productivity due to root wilt disease and pests

like rhinoceros beetle, red palm weevil, eriophyid

mite, etc. The current procurement price of coconuts

is ₹6 per nut, with ₹2 allocated for harvesting costs

(Ramesh, 2023). To meet these challenges, it is

necessary to improve on-farm income by

popularising farm-level processing for value addition.

Small farms must find innovative ways to survive in

today's competitive environment. These include more

diversified enterprises, value-added activities, and

product and market development (Tubine & Hanson,

M., S. C., M., J. and Prabha, V. V.

Exploring Value Addition Opportunities in Tamil Nadu Amidst Decreasing Coconut Prices.

DOI: 10.5220/0012880900004519

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Emerging Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture (ICEISA 2024), pages 27-31

ISBN: 978-989-758-714-6

2006). The value-added products including Copra,

coconut oil, desiccated coconut (DC), coconut cream,

coconut milk, virgin coconut oil, spray-dried coconut

milk powder, coconut chips, cream, nata de coco,

coconut jam and young tender coconut are the

convenience coconut products, and some by-products

are coconut fibre, e.g. coir and coir products, mats,

matting, brushes, brooms and rubberised coir

mattresses, and shell products, e.g. charcoal, activated

carbon, etc.

This study presented here examines value

addition at the farm level in coconut, including direct

marketing with little processing, using tender nuts as

a substitute for other produce, processing coconut oil

and copra at the primary level, and producing food

products, virgin coconut oil, and oil-based products

as a solo or group endeavour at the secondary level of

processing. The objectives of this study are the

following:

• To analyse the socio-economic characters of

coconut growers.

• To assess the awareness on value-added

products from coconut among coconut

growers.

• To find out the constraints, technological

needs and suggestions.

2 METHODOLOGY

In southern Tamil Nadu, from Tenkasi district,

Tenkasi block was purposively chosen for this study.

According to the statistical handbook 2021-22 of

Tenkasi district, coconut is being cultivated in 11,895

hectares. Coconut is cultivated under both irrigated

and unirrigated condition with an annual production

of 1,297 lakh nut and productivity of 10904 nuts/Ha

(Government of Tamil Nadu, 2022). Based on

coconut productivity, three villages from the Tenkasi

Block were chosen and 60 coconut growers in those

villages were randomly selected and primary data was

collected through face to face interview. Ayiraperi,

Mathalamparai, Pattakuruchi, were the villages

selected for this study. A total of 10 independent

variables, including age, gender, educational status,

family type, occupational status, farm size, farming

experience, experience in coconut farming, extension

agency contact, and market perception, were selected

to assess the socio-economic status of coconut

growers. An additional independent variable was also

established to determine the extent of awareness

among coconut growers in the value addition of

coconut.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 presents the description of the socio-

economic status of coconut growers. In the provided

data, nearly half of the surveyed individuals,

accounting for 46.70%, belonged to the middle-aged

category, while 33.30% were classified as old and

20% fell into the young age group. The gender

distribution among respondents showed that 76.70%

were male and the remaining 23.3% were female.

Educational levels varied, with 33.3% having

completed higher secondary education, 16.6% having

primary or graduate education, 13.3% having

secondary education, and 20% being illiterate. Family

size analysis indicated that 60% of participants had a

small family, 26.60% had a medium-sized family and

13.30% had a large family.

Regarding occupation, 40% of respondents were

engaged in agriculture and dairy, while 26.60% were

exclusively involved in agriculture and 23.30%

participated in both agriculture and labour activities.

Additionally, 10% pursued occupations outside of

agriculture. Farm sizes varied, with 26.7% being

classified as marginal 46.67% as small, 20.00% as

medium and 6.67% as large farmers. Examining

extension agency contact, the majority (73.30%) had

low levels followed by 23.30% with medium levels

and only 3.3% with high levels of contact.

Table 1. Socio-economic status of coconut growers.

S. No. Characters Frequency Percentage

1. Age

Young (30 years)

Middle (30-50 years)

Old (above 50

ears)

20.00

46.70

33.30

2. Gender

Male

76.70

ICEISA 2024 - International Conference on ‘Emerging Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture: Leveraging the potential of Digital

Innovations by the Farmers, Agri-tech Startups and Agribusiness Enterprises in Agricu

Female 14 23.30

3. Education status

Illiterate

Functionally literate

Primary

Secondary

Higher secondary

Graduate

10.00

16.60

13.30

33.30

16.60

4. Family type

Nuclear

Join

60.00

40.00

5. Occupational Status

Farming alone

Farming and wage earner

Farming and business

Farmin

and services

33.33

40.00

23.33

03.33

6. Farm Size

Marginal

Small

Medium

Lar

26.7

46.67

20.00

6.67

7. Farming experience

Low (Upto 10 year)

Medium (11-20 years)

h (Above 20

ears)

20.00

46.70

33.30

8. Farming experience in coconut

Low

Medium

20.00

46.70

33.30

9. Extension agency contact

Low

Medium

73.30

23.30

3.30

10. Market perception

Low

Medium

70.00

30.00

Table 2. Awareness on value added products from coconut among farmers.

S. No. Particulars Frequency Percentage

1. Coconut Kernal Based Product

Vir

in coconut oil 12 20

Desiccated coconu

Coconut mil

Coconut skimmed mil

Spra

Dried Coconut Milk Powde

Coconut crea

Coconut chips 0 0

Coconut oil 60 100

Copra 60 100

2. Coconut Water Based Products

Exploring Value Addition Opportunities in Tamil Nadu Amidst Decreasing Coconut Prices

Tender coconut wate

54 90.00

Vine

Coconut squash 0 0

Coconut

ell

ata-de-coco 0 0

3. Coconut Inflorescence Based Food Products

eera 34 56.67

Coconut

610

Coconut palm su

Coconut flower s

rup 0 0

4. Coconut Convenience Food Products

Coconut Biscuits 0 0

Coconut Cand

0 0

Coconut Chocolate 0 0

Coconut burfi 32 53.30

Non-edible coconut products

1. Coconut Shell Based Products

Coconut shell powde

Coconut shell charcoal 6 10.00

Activated carbon 2 3.33

2. Coconut Leaf Based Products

Thatches 60 100

Brooms 60 100

3. Coconut Fibre Based Products

Handicrafts 0 0

Ropes 36 60.00

Coir pith 36 60.00

Table 2 reveals that respondents have a low

understanding of value-added products, which are

mostly focused on coconut oil, copra, and thatches.

Unfortunately, most of the coconut growers are

unaware of varied range of value-added products,

posing a significant obstacle to improving their

livelihoods. This deficiency could be attributed to a

lack of access to scientific knowledge and insufficient

value-addition training programmes for coconut

growers, highlighting the critical need for

comprehensive educational initiatives to equip

farmers with the skills and information they need to

practise sustainable agriculture.

Limited literacy rates and insufficient interaction

with extension organisations may explain lack of

awareness of a wide range of value-added products.

Since more than half of the respondents are marginal

or small farmers, they might not be able to proceed

with value addition in coconut. This circumstance

highlights the importance of focused initiatives to

improve education, boost extension services, and

provide small-scale farmers with information about a

variety of value-added goods.

3.1 Constraints Perceived by Coconut

Growers

Through the qualitative method, it was found that

coconut-growing farmers from the selected villages

face significant hurdles, including high market price

fluctuations, exploitation by intermediaries,

insufficient technical knowledge and limited access

to training on value addition techniques in coconut,

small size of holding restrict them from processing

their produce.

3.2 Suggestions to the Coconut

Growing Farmers

The study reveals that a critical obstacle faced by

participants is the inadequate value addition to their

agricultural produce. To address this issue,

recommendations include establishing facilities for

processing, packaging, labelling and marketing. It is

advised to regularly update scientific knowledge in

coconut processing to keep farmers informed.

Additionally, efforts should be directed towards

ICEISA 2024 - International Conference on ‘Emerging Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture: Leveraging the potential of Digital

Innovations by the Farmers, Agri-tech Startups and Agribusiness Enterprises in Agricu

popularizing coconut products among the public. The

promotion of farmers' producer organizations is

suggested for collective empowerment, and subsidies

for processing and marketing value-added coconut

products could serve as incentives, fostering a more

sustainable and lucrative agricultural ecosystem.

4 CONCLUSION

Despite the problems faced by reduced coconut

pricing in Tamil Nadu, there are significant

opportunities for coconut value addition.

Diversifying coconut-based products, investing in

processing technologies, and encouraging

stakeholder participation will not only mitigate the

impact of falling prices, but will also develop a robust

and thriving coconut industry. By pursuing these

opportunities, Tamil Nadu can convert its coconut

sector into a vibrant and sustainable source of revenue

for farmers while satisfying changing consumer

expectations. Embracing value addition activities is

critical for realising the full economic potential of

coconuts and maintaining the region's agricultural

community's long-term success.

REFERENCES

Mandal, D. M., & Mandal, S. (2011). Coconut (Cocos

nucifera L.: Arecaceae): in health promotion and

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Coconut development board. (n.d.a) Worl d - Area,

Production and Productivity of Coconut in Major

Coconut Growing Countries.2021

https://coconutboard.gov.in/Statistics.aspx

Coconut development board. (n.d.b) All India final

estimates of Area and Production of Coconut. 2021-22

https://coconutboard.gov.in/Statistics.aspx

Indian Trade Portal. (n.d). Coconut Industry and Exports.

https://www.indiantradeportal.in/vs.jsp?lang=0&id=0,

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Muralidharan, K., & Jayashree, A. (2011). Value addition,

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Exploring Value Addition Opportunities in Tamil Nadu Amidst Decreasing Coconut Prices