COCONUT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

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COCONUT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (Water Management And Climate Resilience Technologies For Coconut Plantations) KINATHUKADAVU BLOCK OF COIMBATORE DISTRICT

With the objective of increasing the production and productivity of coconut palms through water resource development and soil and moisture conservation measures, Coconut Development Programme was launched in Kinathukadavu block in Coimbatore District in August 2018. The programme was completed at the end of March 2019 after which COODU Research Team carried out study of the project area as well as case studies. A total of 501 farmers benefitted. Farm ponds were created in Fifty one(51) farms and soil and moisture conservation measures such as Trench – Cum- Bund and Ring Bud were formed in the four hundred and fifty wight(458) farms. The case study is presented as follows

A Study On Harvesting Water To Enhance Production Of Coconut:Abstract

The study deals with development activities implemented by COODU, as visualized by MARICO in a tropical region facing scarcity of water. The success achieved elsewhere with the same conditions are compared. The issues related to the study are, the technology involved, trainings imparted and its adaptation by farmers and its improvisation and efficiency in harvesting and distribution of water and its impacts on production. For the study of these issues, interactive sessions with farmer and workers, monitoring, visual documentation and collection of secondary data were organized and carried out in the study area. The study concludes that modern agricultural practices, micro-irrigation and collaboration with neighbouring farmers in pest management should be ensured to maximize productivity and production, for remunerative gains.

Introduction

With the Agriculture sector facing multitudinous problems in our Nation, the issue of livelihood security for the farmers occupies the foremost place. There are instances of such livelihood issues taken up, but only as movements inspired by a few leaders and not on a national scale. Experiences in Karamadai block of Coimbatore district from the year 2015, where COODU has been implementing development activities in twenty four watershed projects scheduled to be completed in 2020 have shown that, productivity and production of coconut, banana and other crops have increased following the execution of water harvesting structures and Soil and Moisture Conservation (SMC) measures, resulting in economic development of the watershed areas and areas proximate to it. Hitherto, farmers have invested in digging open wells and went on rigging bore wells. When bore wells went dry, they had to invest again to rig alternate bore wells, thereby exhausting their energy and most importantly precious money. Unless proven water harvesting techniques, requiring heavy investments are adapted, rain-fed agriculture would be a risky venture and the farmer would justifiably be tempted not to adapt such techniques, thereby limiting agricultural production to a very low level. With the advent of MARICO, a transformation in the existing situation has happened. When approached with plans for coconut development, willing farmers have come forward not only in consenting to the creation of water harvesting structures and SMC measures, but also in contributing their share financially at a fixed percentage. With notion gained on the need to equip the farmers with knowledge and skills on water harvesting techniques, water, pest/ residue managements, COODU had mobilized the farmers and organized capacity building sessions with the participation of scientists and experts from TNAU & KVK, as approved by MARICO. The Project Plan on harvesting and utilization of precious and valuable water, with the use of technology involved, cropping pattern, operational areas and adaption of and commitment by the farmers to the plan are discussed in the study.

Our Programme…

Launched in August 2018 in six villages in Kinathukadavu block in two phases, farm ponds were created in fifty one farms (51), trench cum bund (TCB) formed in four hundred and fifty eight (458) farms and ring bunds formed around each and every tree. From all the farms, fourteen farms with distinct features were selected, out of which, five farms, where farm ponds have been filled up during South West monsoon have been prioritized for studies, the details of which are presented.

Study – An Overview

The first phase of planning was for creating water harvesting structures, i.e. Farm Ponds in thirty nine (39) farms and Soil and Moisture Conservation measures such as Trench-Cum-Bund (TCB) and Ring Bunds in three hundred (300) farms. The second phase was creating twelve (12) Farm Ponds and SMC measures in one hundred and fifty eighty (158) farms. The first issue is technology. Farm ponds are in existence for centuries and are proven source of irrigation water. With inlets rigged with stone pitch and vegetative barriers to filter sediments, leaves and waste materials, the ponds harvest rain water and also receive water from upstream.With the soil permeable, water percolates down to the sub-surface and open and bore wells replenishe ground water. TCB is relatively a recently adapted measure after experimentation. The concept is that it draws down the run-off in the farm and serves to conserve moisture, with the deposition of mulching materials, like chopped up fronds, pods, pith and coir. The mulches, when soaked in water, disintegrate into soil increasing its organic carbon content, enriching the soil thereby resulting in growth in productivity and production of coconut. Likewise, ring bunds serve to conserve moisture with the application of aforesaid technique leading to the same results as aforesaid. Training on soil and moisture conservation measures has been imparted to farmers and they have adapted to it. The second issue is use of water. Fifty percent of the farmers have installed drip irrigation system as exhorted by TNAU trainers and guided by COODU team. As aimed, efficiency in judicious use of water has reached optimum level in these farms. Other farmers have applied to the Department of Agriculture for the 100% subsidy scheme. Covering the ring bund and trench with coir mulch, pith and husk serve to conserve moisture for a long time. The goal is to maximize crop yield per unit area. With humidity at 77%, rate of evaporation is slow and soil moisture may always remain above the permanent wilting point. The third issue is size of land holdings. As per MARICO’s policy, marginal and small farmers are prioritized under the programme. Employment generation, as an important issue, could be ascertained during harvesting of the produce and the lean season thereafter, when SMC measures, fertigation and pruning are undertaken.

Study Models

The underlying principle of the project is to maximize productivity and production and to minimize use of water. This was achieved by selecting sites to create farm ponds on the upstream sides of open and bore wells so that they fill up when rainfall is harvested in the pond. Even otherwise, percolation effects recharge wells around fifty meters radius from the pond. The former scenario is an ideal one. Another factor is installing drip irrigation system which ensures irrigation efficiency to more than ninety percent.There are two models under the programme, viz: i. Integrated Irrigation Model, in which, TCB is formed along one border of the farm leading to a farm pond, which recharges open and bore wells, from where, water is pumped to trees through a drip irrigation system. Around each tree, ring bund has been formed. Irrigation efficiency of this model is more than 90%. ii. Standalone Irrigation Model, in which, furrows carry water pumped from farm pond to the trees with an irrigation efficiency of 70%. To sum up, for best yield in farms with drip irrigation in normal conditions, supply of 45 lts. daily during the monsoons is required. Supply is reduced to 25 lts. per day during post monsoon months. During the lean seasons from February to May, the requirement is 65 lts. per day. During condition of moderate water scarcity, the supply is reduced to 2/3rd of normal condition. This may go down to 1/3rd of normal condition when the scarcity is severe. For basin irrigation in normal condition, supply of 410 lts. per nine days is required during the monsoons. This goes up to 410 lts. per seven days during post-monsoon months. This still goes up to 410 lts. per six days during lean season from February to May. To compensate for conveyance loss, an addition of 30 to 40 % of the quantity mentioned above, to the tune of around 150 lts. per palm should be supplied. Comparatively, 37% more water has to be supplied for basin irrigation compared to drip irrigation in normal condition, not to mention additional cost for energy/electricity and maintenance of pumpsets. Summing up, 16,425 lts.of water is required for irrigating a tree through drip irrigation normally during the monsoons. For a farm with 100 trees, the annual requirement is 1,642,500 lts. for best yield of 12500 palms, approximately requiring 58,000cft. of water. A 100’ x 100’ x 6’ pond holds 60,000 cft. of water i.e., 1698 Cum of water; with a pond measuring 21m x 20m x 2m = 840 Cum which has to fill up twice a year. Discussion of Results

Discussion Of Results

Technology: After the summer rains in April 2019 and the South West monsoon, the farm ponds in the study area have filled up and its percolation effect has resulted in open wells attaining its full capacity, thus proving the feasibility of the technology in formation of farm ponds. Likewise, TCB and ring bunds using mulch materials are successful. The fruition of the programme, in terms of augmented income of farmers by sales revenue from increased production and productivity of coconut palms, wpuld be ascertained by March 2020. The crop yields and net benefits gained per acre of farm land for coconut and inter-crops in the study area have to be fully ascertained.

Judicious use of Water: With a combination of SMC measures, micro-irrigation, use of coir, coir pith, husk and chopped up fronds and pods, increase in yield per unit area is aimed at. With the two monsoons as well as summer rains, water harvested is estimated to be sufficient. The goal in this regard is to use minimum water for maximum production.

Employment Potential: The farms and coir production units employ hundreds of labourers, but this is seasonal, during and after harvest. When the aim of increased production of palms is achieved as a result of the programme as visualized by MARICO, more employment opportunities would be created, both in the farms as well as in the bye-products making units.

Menace of White Insects: In the capacity building sessions, the farmers were imbibed with methods of application of pesticides to eliminate the white insects in unison and not individually, since only a concerted effort would eliminate the insects completely. This information was not followed by the farmers. That the farmers never ever came together for common cause could be one of the reasons for this reluctance to join together. Some of the farmers even said the pesticides recommended by the scientists and experts were not effective, while some said others are not coming together to fight the menace and it is useless to fight individually. Another reason could be that some farmers live in nearby towns and choose not to travel to their farms, unsure of achieving expected results. The method of attracting the insects by applying yellow coloured adhesives of castor oil etc., on sacks stretched across trees in or outside the farms to trap them as suggested by experts was tried by some but not all simultaneously. These half-hearted measures did not yield results, as the insects tend to come back to the farms undeterred.

Conclusion:

Initiatives on coconut development should be based on the principle of maximizing productivity and production. Agricultural and irrigation technologies should be used to maximize efficiency. Intensive farm practices at high technology levels will result in higher economic efficiency as well as high remunerative income for farmers. Continuous interaction on pest management will convince farmers to change their behavior and unite together to fight insect menace. 

Case Study – 1

  • 1. Name of farmer : Mr. Suseendra Kumar S/O. Kulandaivel, Mullupadi
  • 2. Age : 32
  • 3. Professional Status : Full time small farmer
  • 4. Benefits received from MARICO : Farm Pond
  • 5. Area & No. of Trees : 5 Acres, 420 palms
  • 6. Project Cost MARICO : Rs.64,725/- Farmer Contribution : Rs.12,213/- (19%)
  • 7. Type of Irrigation : One open well, three functioning bore wells & new farm pond
  • 8. Impacts of Recent Drought : Severe drought for three years till 2017-18,caused withering of trees with crown falling off.
  • 9. Monsoon & Rainfall trend in 2018-19 : More rainfall during 2018-19 summer and & 2019-20 SouthWest monsoon compared to previous years. 2019 - 2020 South West monsoon little more than normal
  • 10. Impacts of Farm Pond : # Open well filled to the brim, from which water is being pumped. # In bore wells, pumping time increased to round the day after rains. #Replenishment of ground water also recharging wells. # Aforesaid impacts indicate percolation effect from farm pond.

Case Study – 2

  • 1. Name of farmer : Mr.K.Shamugasundaram S/O. Krishnasamy Devanampalayam&Panchayat
  • 2. Age : 56 years
  • 3. Professional Status : Full time small farmer
  • 4. Area & No. of Trees : 4.5 acres – 325 Trees
  • 5. Project Cost – MARICO : Rs.13,402/- Farmer Contribution : Rs.1550/-
  • 6. Type of Irrigation : one open well and four bore wells and a new farm pond
  • 7. Rainfall (District) : South West Monsoon: Actual - 577.7 & Normal: 559.1
  • 8. Initiatives : a) Rigged 4 Bore wells across 4.5 acres
    b) Installed drip irrigation
    c) Consented to formation of one farm pond, ring bunds for all coconut palm trees under MARICO– CSR – implemented by COODU.
    d) Took preventive steps like daily irrigation mixed with insecticide to get rid of white fly (Cockchapterbeetle) which saps leaves and damages nuts.

Case Study – 3

  • 1. Name of farmer : Mr. Subramanian S/O. Chinna Nachimuthu, Devanampalayam
  • 2. Age : 62
  • 3. Professional Status : Full time marginal farmer
  • 4. Benefits received from MARICO : Farm Pond
  • 5. Area & No. of Trees : 1.32 Acres, 140 palms
  • 6. Project Cost MARICO : Rs.18,058/-
    Farmer Contribution : Rs.2,100/- (11%)
  • 7. Type of Irrigation : One open well and a new farm pond
  • 8. Impacts of Recent Drought : Trees have weathered during drought from 2015-16 for three years, with ten tree crowns falling off.
  • 9. Monsoon & Rainfall trend in 2018-19 : Normal & 2019-20
  • 10. Impacts of Farm Pond : Open well situated ten meters away filled to the brim: Pumpsets working daily fulfilling requirements.

Case Study – 4

  • 1. Name of the farmers : Ms. Selvanayagam w/o K. Balasubramanian M.A Goundanpalayam Panchayat Kinathukadavu Block & Taluk Coimbatore Dt
  • 2. Age : 50 years
  • 3. Professional Status : Full time lady farmer
  • 4. Benefit Obtained : Farm Pond
  • 5. Project Cost : MARICO 95,229.52
    Farmers Contribution 17,967.83 (19.0%)
    Total 1,13,197.35
  • 6. Extent of land : 3.5 Acre in Devanampalayam
  • 7. Details of farming : Crop – Plantation crop: Coconut – 325 Inter Crop – Maize Capacity – 42.5 X 27.5 m X 1.2 m = 1402.5 m
  • 8. Type of Irrigation : One bore well & one open well
  • 9. Actual recent impact of drought : Severe drought from 2015 – 16 to 2017 – 18; caused Withering of 26 trees, and fall of crowns, steep Reduction in productivity and production; fall in Income; still recovering after two years with growth At fast pace in 2018 – 19 due to copious rain
  • 10. Monsoon trend in 2018 – 19 : Normal SW & NE monsoon and summer, rainfall Which replenished ground water and recharged open Bore wels.
  • 11. Existing Assests : Open & bore well one each with pumpsets Farm Pond
  • 12. Impact of new farm pond : Farm pond has replenished ground water and recharged open and bore wells from a few hours of pumping, bore well yields water throughout the day.Open well has filled up
  • 13. Issues : Cyclical drought that regularly impacts upon Availability of water; drying up open and bore Wells and depleting ground water .Thousands of white insects descending on fronds And nuts, sucking out juice breaking the process Of photosynthesis, thereby depriving trees of food And water resulting in withering, sapping the nuts Resulting in their premature fall; loss in production And productivity of palms; loss of revenue to Farmer. No united front of farmers to fight the scourge. Advice of TNAU on use of insecticide ineffective
  • 14. Initiative of farmers : Soil & moisture conservation measures as imbibed By scientists and experts from TNAU in training Sessions.
  • 15. Requirements of farmers : Normal monsoon and good summer rains Neutralizing white insects
  • Suggestions : As expressed by the farmer, an union of farmers Should be formed so as to put pressure on the Govt. To initiate R & D measures to neutralize the insects. TNAU & TNVU to undertake research on the insects And devise methods to neutralize them in field Conditions.