Can We Say- Happy Coconut Day?

 

“I’m a little coconut,

Sitting under this tree here

Everybody steps on me,

That is why I’m cracked you see.”

And when the coconut is cracked it finds various celebrations. From its sweet water to delicious kernel the fruit leaves an enticing effect on our mind. The choir outside or its green leaves has several usage in cottage industries. Therefore it has been considered most benevolent tree found in nature. The tree has also ignited several imaginations and practices throughout the years.

Religion was one of the first intellectual activities of primitive man. It may be considered as the first intellectual approach to understand the nature coherently. In the Hindu religion it is an important ritual to break the coconut before starting any new venture. It is said that once human and animal sacrifices were common in Hindu religion but in an effort to stop this inhuman practice Adi Shankaracharya stepped in and replaced it with coconut as the fruit resembles a human head in many ways.

In southern Vietnam’s Ben Tre Province on an islet of the Mekong River a coconut Kingdom was created by NguyenThanh Nam in 1963. The religion was largely based on the philosophy of Buddhist and Christian religions. Though after its ban in 1975 and following its founder’s death during a clash with government forces the religion has lost its vigour, it is still practiced by a few people. The religion advocates consuming only coconuts and drinking only coconut milk.

One of the most versatile natural products is coconut. It can provide sweet drink; can be used in delicious recipes and also in herbal medicines. Moreover coconut oil is widely used in cooking and cosmetic preparations. Its leaves and various other parts are used to make brooms and also used as firewood in rural India. Its choir is used to make rope.

Coconut has been livelihood for the millions across the globe. Only in India coconut is grown in an area of 1.90 million hectares. It contributes 83000 million to the country’s GDP. Globally it is grown in 93 countries and in 12.29 hectares of land. But like any other agro based industries this one too has been exposed to serious threat in the liberalized world economy. Fluctuating prices, volatile domestic marketing system, recession of trade sector have posed serious challenges before this sector. After the present lockdown phases and the worldwide concern about the COVID 19 pandemic the situation has worsened. But in a country like India there is ample scope to generate employment through agribusiness through comprehensive planning and policy making.

Since 2009 World Coconut Day is observed on September 2, 2020 by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) to encourage and promote the development of the coconut industry. On this day the APCC was formed with its headquarters at Jakarta. There are eighteen member countries at present of which India is an important member.

At present world economy is tattering badly. So does the economy of India. Recent data shows that India's economy has suffered its worst slump on record in April-June, with the GDP contracting by 23.9 per cent.  Therefore the policymakers should pay more attention towards agro based industries and coconut can play a pivotal role in regenerating employment and in eradicating poverty in coastal India.

Can we wish Happy Coconut Day in the coming years?