• Coconut growers, pluckers, agri. science u’grads, researching project officers and ex-officials weigh in on present shortage 
• Highlight a story of neglect and lack of tech./material/expert/practical support, disease, real estate, pests, etc.

On a tranquil morning, a resident of Ratnapura, Chinthaka Pradeep, stands under the shade of a towering coconut tree in his garden; its leaves swaying gently in the breeze. He looks up, scanning the tree for coconuts as a new year is approaching, but, the sight is disappointing. "There was a time when each tree gave us a very good harvest," he says with a sigh. Across Sri Lanka, from Southern coconut plantations to those in the coconut triangle, growers share the same concern; a growing coconut shortage threatening livelihoods and long-term economic development.

Sri Lanka is currently facing a significant coconut shortage, impacting daily consumption and industries reliant on coconut products. Factors like reduced cultivation, diseases such as the Weligama leaf wilt and whitefly infestation, and the conversion of coconut lands for real estate have contributed to this crisis. High fertiliser costs, the lack of support for growers, and reduced planting programmes have further worsened the situation.

A coconut landowner, Pradeep said that compared to other crops, although it being one of the main plantation crops, the use of fertilisers and support from the Government for coconut cultivation is minimal. As a result, he said that even from large coconut plantations, only a very small yield can be obtained, and claimed that no effective programme has been implemented by the relevant institutions to inform about the importance of applying fertiliser for coconut cultivation and its benefits. "Farmers must apply fertilisers for all types of crops. Those who cultivate crops such as paddy and tea get a fertiliser subsidy, technical advice, and other types of support from the Government, but there is no such support for coconut growers. At least a coconut plant is not available at a subsidised price. Due to the high price of fertilisers, the growers buy very little fertilisers at their own expense. This is why the coconut yield is decreasing year by year." He further said that there are a number of institutions such as the Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB), the Coconut Development Authority (CDA), and the Coconut Research Institute (CRI), but that it is doubtful as to whether they play a role in promoting coconut cultivation or increasing the yield of the existing plantations. If the relevant authorities do not pay sufficient attention and implement a suitable programme to rectify this situation, he warned that the country would have to face an even more serious coconut crisis in the future.

According to J.M. Dayananda, who works plucking coconuts in plantations, said that the lifespan of coconut trees and the yield that they produce have dropped significantly compared to 30 years ago. "I started plucking coconuts as a livelihood in the 1990s. Back then, coconut trees gave a good yield until they were about 30 years old. Now, the yield starts to drop when a tree is around 15 years old. A healthy coconut tree can produce about 30-50 coconuts once every four months, but I feel that this number is decreasing now. For example, I work in a plantation of nearly 20 acres, and there is a big difference between the coconut yield in it in the 1990s and now." He further said that the natural fertility of the soil, which existed many years ago, may now have diminished due to various reasons such as the use of chemical substances for other cultivations and soil erosion, adding that certain other factors such as limited time, labour, and finances for plantation owners may also have also contributed to the issue. He also claimed that when a disease affects coconut plantations, there is no formal programme to inform plantation owners or assist them in taking corrective actions, and said that it too has led to a decline in coconut yields.

The coconut plantations and harvest have also been affected by the sale of large tracts of coconut land by real estate companies. In the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, and Kurunegala, which form the coconut triangle, buying large areas of coconut land at low prices, the cutting down of trees, and selling the land in smaller plots has become a very profitable business for mushrooming real estate companies. This practice is expected to have both short- and long-term impacts on the coconut cultivation and supply. "An acre of coconut land usually has about 64 coconut trees. Nowadays, large plots of 10-100 acres are being divided into smaller plots and sold in every district. If a 10-acre coconut plantation is sold in this way, around 640 coconut trees are cut down. This leads to many short-term and long-term issues. For instance, the supply of coconuts for daily use will not meet the demand, and in the long term, coconut-related industries may collapse. This will reduce the foreign exchange earned by the country and could result in many people losing their jobs," a university graduate who studied agricultural science, Ashen Gunathilaka said. He added that when large extents of land are sold, Government agencies themselves grant the necessary approvals, adding that there are no programmes in place to ensure that the number of coconut trees cut down is replanted. He suggested that if the Government enacts proper regulations or imposes restrictions on land sales, the damage to coconut plantations could be minimised to a considerable extent.

The spread of diseases in coconut cultivations in some areas has also impacted coconut plantations, reducing both their extent and yield. Among the major issues are the whitefly infestation (a common garden and greenhouse pest that is very difficult to control. Whiteflies, when they feed on the plant sap, the result is stunting, especially in young plants. The Weligama Coconut Leaf Wilt Disease is a non-lethal but debilitating disease that affects coconut palms in the Southern Province.

A coconut landowner from Ahangama, Galle, Lalith Samaranayake explained that the Weligama leaf disease, which began spreading about 10 years ago, has caused severe damage to coconut plantations in the Southern Districts of Galle, Matara, and Hambantota. He said that many coconut trees in these areas had to be cut down due to damages caused by it. "Currently, the most common diseases in coconut plantations are the Weligama leaf disease and the whitefly infestation. Whitefly issue is seen in other districts too. It can be controlled by spraying kohomba (neem, margosa) liquid mixed with soap or using the recommended chemicals. However, there is no proper guidance from the relevant institutions, so, the whitefly issue has spread widely. It does not destroy coconut trees, but it reduces the harvest that a tree yields. On the other hand, the Weligama leaf disease has caused many coconut trees to be cut every year in the Galle, Matara, and Hambantota Districts," he explained.

A project officer working on a research project related to coconut cultivation in the Southern Province, who requested anonymity due to confidentiality agreements signed with the relevant institution, confirmed this. He said that most of the affected trees were in the Galle, Matara, and Hambantota Districts. "Last year (in 2023) alone, over 10,000 coconut trees had to be cut down because of the Weligama leaf disease, with Matara being the worst affected. Although the whitefly infestation can be controlled, there is no formal programme for it. There is not even any awareness raised through the television media. The Government agencies that oversee the coconut cultivation sector need to act quickly; otherwise, large numbers of coconut trees will continue to be lost every year," he warned.

The damage caused to coconut cultivation and coconut harvest by wild animals such as wild pigs, porcupines, giant squirrels and toque macaques is also contributing to the issue. A resident of Rakwana, who is engaged in coconut cultivation, Methsiri Gunathilaka said that wild pigs and porcupines damage the coconut plants, and giant squirrels and toque macaques damage the coconut harvest. According to him, the damage caused by pigs and porcupines can be prevented through methods such as covering the coconut tree, but that the damage caused by giant squirrels and toque macaques is not practical to be prevented. The most serious damage to coconut cultivations was said to have been caused by toque macaques and giant squirrels in recent years. The number of coconuts destroyed by those two animals in the first six months of 2022 amounted to 92 million.

During the previous government, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that it was planning to launch a special programme to increase the annual production of coconuts by more than one billion, and make the total production of coconuts five billion during the course of three years. Under the plan, the annual coconut production, which the ministry said stands at 3.6 billion, was to be increased by about 1.4 billion. However, the progress of the said programme was not reported afterwards.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, CCB former Chairperson Sarath Keerthiratne, said that there was a considerable lack of effective intervention made by the relevant institutions to expand coconut cultivation and increase the coconut harvest. He said that Sri Lanka had only one million acres of coconut plantations by the 2010s, and that during the war, plantations in the Northern and Eastern Provinces had almost entirely been destroyed. "Through the 'Uthuru Wasanthaya' programme, we increased the extent of coconut cultivation to 1.1 million acres by distributing coconut plants free of charge to the Northern and Eastern Provinces. That is why the price of coconuts in those provinces is still lower compared to other provinces," At the time that he Chaired the CCB, he said that its nurseries released eight-nine million coconut plants annually. "Now, that number has been cut in half. Even when 8-9 million plants were released, about half were lost due to various reasons, but, at least 4-4.5 million were successfully planted, which boosted the coconut yield. Currently, only about 2.5 million plants are being released, which is not enough to make a noticeable difference in the yield," He also noted that the cessation of programmes like free coconut plant distribution has worsened the situation. "Buying a hybrid coconut plant is very expensive now, as even an ordinary plant is about Rs. 450. With subsidies for coconut cultivation recently stopped, people are unwilling to spend money to buy plants," he added. Keerthiratne also said that the appointment of individuals with little practical knowledge or experience to key positions in coconut related institutions had also contributed to the challenges. "Lately, university professors and experts in other fields were appointed to lead these institutions. They lacked the hands-on understanding needed to develop these organisations or the coconut cultivation sector. As a result, many programmes that had been successfully implemented were abandoned."

Attempts to contact the Minister of Plantation Samantha Vidyarathna, Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha, the CCB, and the CDB proved futile.