Financial Times

Coconut growers demand right to shoot thieves

By Quintus Perera

Coconut growers are demanding immunity for their watchers and the authority to shoot armed robbers, citing the growing threat from organised gangs who steal fresh nuts from estates.

The demand was made last week at the ninth annual general meeting of the Coconut Growers' Association, which also brought to light some glaring misdeeds by the police in coconut estates.

One grower complained that on the day of plucking, the Officer-in-Charge in some areas goes around in his vehicle which have to be loaded with coconuts by estate staff. Otherwise, things could get "unpleasant", he said.

A number of growers complained that coconut thefts were a menace in their plantations and that many of the thieves came armed, in gangs from the surrounding areas.

In most cases they would get away with their loot after threatening the watcher, who was helpless, despite being armed with a gun, as he was barred from shooting except in self-defence. Otherwise, the watcher could be prosecuted.

Some growers demanded that watchers be allowed to shoot thieves below the knee as a last resort, but be given immunity from prosecution.

Even when thieves are caught and handed over to police, they could be freed by a simple telephone call to the OIC or a Pradeshiya Sabha member.

Denzil Aponso, outgoing president of the association, said that consumers were paying high prices for fresh nuts because middlemen were making a 100 percent profit on sales, with a nut bought at seven rupees at the farm gate being sold at Rs. 14 in the retail market.

Even when the farm gate prices dropped to three rupees a nut in 2000, it was sold at Rs. 10 in the Pettah market.

In India the difference between the farm gate price and the consumer price was only about a rupee. The current farm gate price of a coconut in Tamil Nadu and Kerala was around three Indian rupees (SL Rs. 6) despite the fact the Indian grower got free water and electricity, and the fertilizer price was half that of Sri Lanka.

Indian medium size nuts were also much smaller than the Sri Lankan ones and contained at least one-third less kernel.

Within a year or two some countries could supply nuts cheaper and would start their own desiccated coconut factories, Aponso said.

The industry should get together to increase production and reduce costs.

Some coconut growers complained that the replanting subsidy had been stopped and wanted it resumed as most coconut plantations were now more than 40 years old and needed replanting.

Lucian Fernando, chairman, Coconut Cultivation Board, said that though replanting was required, dishing out subsidies was not the answer.

Although every year around two million coconut seedlings had been issued free, there had been many occasions of seedlings lying in bus stands as they were leftovers from distributions made at political meetings.

Now, he said, they were not issued free and nothing was left in the nurseries as everything was sold.