Coconuts on distress sale post Fani

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Bhubaneswar: Several coconut farmers in the rural areas of Puri district are now in financial trouble, thanks to the severe cyclonic storm Fani which hit the coast May 3.
While many have sold their coconuts at prices lower than expected, there are many others who struggle to sell their stocks in the absence of buyers. However, the real problem is glut in the coconut market. The local markets are being flooded with coconuts plucked from thousands of fallen trees. While the demand has remained the same, the availability of coconuts has increased manifold.
A visit by this correspondent to some of the Fani-hit villages of Puri district has revealed that the rural population which is dependent on this trade is now facing financial problems. And, there is no perceptible assistance from the government.
Godnadh Behera is a villager from Jaipur in the Satyabadi block near Sakhigopal. He said, “Earlier we used to sell coconuts at `10 each and used to make ends meet. But now Fani forced us to sell a coconut at `2 each. We are staring at a bleak future as we lost many coconut trees which used to be our main source of livelihood.”
This village has many coconut growers who process the products to be used in industries like coir. Villagers claim that with the loss of many coconut trees which are lifeline for many people life has become tougher for them. Since the landfall of the cyclone in Puri, a month ago, not much has changed at the ground level in the state.
Gopinath Mulai, a coconut trader from Palanka in Satyabadi block in the district said, “Forget about distress sale, we even failed to find proper buyers and since the cyclone the supply has been far more than the demand. Many of us lost coconut trees and the coconuts we got from the fallen trees could not fetch us money as we failed to get buyers.”
Mulai said a proper godown or a mechanism to procure coconuts by the state government at a support price could have helped the farmers in the aftermath of Fani.
A field visit to interior areas has revealed the extent of damage caused by Fani to coconut plantations. They fell flat on the ground and their remains can be seen even today.
Coconut traders demand compensation for losses, procurement of coconuts by the government under such circumstances to check distress sales and specific schemes for coconut growers and traders when they face natural disasters.