Farmers seek intervention to protect coconut trees from Lethal Yellowing Disease

Farmers in the rural areas of Kozhikode district have raised serious concerns over the rapid spread of Lethal Yellowing Disease (LYD), a phytoplasma-driven affliction that threatens to cripple their plantations and cause a steep decline in annual yields. The crisis remains largely unaddressed at a time when farmers are finally receiving relatively favourable market prices for fresh coconuts and value-added products.

Leaders of several farmers’ organisations allege that neither the Agriculture department nor the Coconut Development Board has shown genuine interest in addressing the situation. They claim that officials continue to rely on outdated findings and field-level reports, while ignoring farmers’ demands for fresh field-level studies.

“The coconut plantations of Kozhikode and other north Kerala districts play a crucial role in the State’s overall crop production and market supply. Hundreds of oil mills, value-added product manufacturing units, and allied enterprises depend on them. Any decline in yield will have a direct and damaging impact on the market and the State’s agricultural economy,” says Johnson Kulathingal, seasoned farmer and State general secretary of Kisan Janata. He adds that assumptions based on past research and field visits will do little to solve the current crisis.

Citing statistics related to the declining coconut production in the State, a retired Agriculture department officer who had conducted extensive research in the sector dismisses the official claim that over 40 nuts can still be harvested from each tree every cycle. “In reality, because of the infectious diseases, many experienced farmers now collect only 10 to 20 nuts per cycle. This shrinking yield undermines Kerala’s claim as the country’s top coconut producer,” he says.

Farmer associations, including We Farm, Indian Farmers Movement, and the Karshaka Congress, have demanded immediate field studies in the worst-hit panchayats such as Koodaranhi, Thiruvambadi, Kuttiyadi, Perambra, and Kodenchery. They also want district-level committees, led by senior Agriculture department officers, to conduct inspections and hold regular review meetings to speed up solutions.

“The Kerala Gramam project initiated by the State government for coconut cultivation will be meaningless if authorities continue to dismiss farmers’ complaints. If they believe it is not LYD, they should prove it through fresh scientific studies instead of ridiculing already distressed farmers,” says Vinesh Scaria, a farmer from Kodenchery. He criticises premier research institutions in the sector for remaining “indolent” and failing to extend voluntary support.

Meanwhile, Agriculture department sources said complaints from farmers had already been forwarded to competent researchers. Citing details from recent field visits in Kozhikode, they also alleged that certain groups were attempting to spread “unscientific findings” to mislead farmers and mobilise them against the department for political purposes.