Coconut shortage:

Over four m new trees in 2011

Dinesh DE ALWIS

Plans are underway to plant 4 million coconut trees islandwide by next year with the help of Samurdhi families and war heroes families said Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara.

Samurdhi families and War heroes families are advised to plant five coconut trees each. Necessary coconut crops will be supplied in the future. "We hope to get the assistance of school students.

We are having discussions with the Education Ministry. Scholarships would be granted to those who protect coconut trees," he further said.

Parallel to the above project the Coconut Cultivation Board has planned to grow pepper and plantains as an inter-crop in coconut lands.

The Ministry hopes to grant a special coconut fertilizer subsidy for coconut growers.

Meanwhile the Ministry has decided to cut down 350,000 coconut trees affected with the Coconut Leaf Wilt disease in Weligama by next year.

Already 13,000 trees are cut down in that area. In Sri Lanka one million acres of land are cultivated with coconut trees and the annual coconut production is 2,700 million nuts.