Palakkad: The agriculture department under the state government has intervened to ease the financial constraints affecting raw coconut procurement in the state. In this regard, the department has approved Rs 3 crore and another Rs 50.6 lakh to Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Coconut Farming (Kerafed) and Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation (Marketfed), respectively. 

Kerafed can settle the handling charge arrears to Self Help Group (SHG) committees and cooperatives affiliated with the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), which have been procuring coconuts. 

The move comes at a time when VFPCK intervened to address the disruption in coconut procurement caused by pending payments faced by Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and cooperatives. VFPCK provided a loan to cover the outstanding amount owed by Kerafed. Upon receiving the pending payments from Kerafed, the SHGs and cooperatives are expected to settle the loan with VFPCK. The outstanding handling charges for SHGs and cooperative farmer markets have been accumulating since October 2022, amounting to approximately Rs 9 crore.

According to the agriculture department, the present allocation is purely the state government’s contribution and direct intervention in issues related to procurement.