Planters search modifications in Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Act

Express News Service
KOCHI: The draft plantation coverage, authorized by the state cabinet final week, permitting inter-cropping and multi-cropping, in addition to allowing tourism tasks in plantation land, won’t unlock the total potential of the sector except the Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Act is amended, in accordance with consultants.

“Under the existing rules, a planter is prohibited from farming crops like vegetables or fruits in over 15 acres of land. Further, inter-cropping can’t be done in a rubber plantation as most vegetables and fruits won’t grow under the shade,” stated Joshy Joseph Manniparambil, a Kanjirappally-based planter, who has plantations in neighbouring states.

The historic Kerala Land Reforms Act enacted by the EMS Namboodiripad authorities in 1963 and Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1969, imposed a 15-acre ceiling on possession of agriculture land.

However, it had exempted the plantation sector on the grounds that they have been money crops coming below the Central authorities’s commerce ministry and it entails extra capital and excessive quantity of labour.  “In Tamil Nadu, there is no restriction of land area for cultivating other crops, except for coconut, where too the limit is 50 acres,” Manniparambil stated.

According to the Economic Survey, Kerala has a considerable share within the 4 plantation crops of rubber, tea, espresso and cardamom. These 4 crops collectively occupy 7.12 lakh ha, accounting for 27.5 per cent of the entire cropped space within the state. Kerala’s share within the nationwide manufacturing of rubber was 74.9 per cent, cardamom 89.7 per cent, espresso 21.87 per cent and tea 4.35 per cent in 2019-20.

Rubber occupies the second largest space within the state, subsequent to coconut with 21.3 per cent of the gross cropped space. In Kerala, the world below rubber decreased by 170 ha in 2019- 20.The earlier Oommen Chandy-led UDF authorities had allowed the plantation sector to utilise 5 per cent of the land for non-plantation functions.

The draft plantation coverage authorized by the cabinet on Thursday allowed vegetable cultivation, dairy farming, bee-keeping and tourism-related tasks within the plantations. The new coverage additionally gave its nod to reopen plantations which have been remaining shut for lengthy.

“This is a policy announcement in the right direction. Tourism in plantation has big potential and it remains untapped. For instance, many plantations in Kerala has European-style buildings that can be utilised for tourism projects,” stated Ajit BK, secretary, Association of Planters of Kerala (APK). 

He reckoned the coverage bulletins are only a first step and extra curbs should be eliminated for the total realisation of the plantation sector’s potential. According to the Economic Survey, the worldwide backlash in opposition to globalisation and the following erection of upper tariff boundaries led to a decline within the export of plantation-related merchandise of Kerala.

Kerala’s Cash crop cultivation 

Area below rubber, tea, espresso and cardamom: 7.12 lakh ha or 27.5 per cent of complete cropped space

Kerala’s share in nationwide manufacturing (2019-2020)