Two Decades of Expanding Acreage of Coconut in Tamil Nadu, India: An Analysis in Food Security Perspective

Abstract

Coconut is an important horticultural crop which has a significant bearing on the livelihood security of small and marginal farmers across the nation. Trend analysis was done on the expansion of coconut acreage in Tamil Nadu over the past two decades and the simultaneous expansion of other prominent food grains in the state. In Tamil Nadu, the area under coconut registered an expansion of +35.27% in 2020 compared to that of 2000 and concomitantly the production registered an increase by 68.24% and productivity by 24.56% during the said period surpassing the drowning effect of biotic and abiotic stresses. During the past two decades, the area under major food grains viz., paddy registered a negative growth rate of -12.12%, pearl millet -51.16%, finger millet – 31.35%, sugarcane – 45.71%, sesame – 60.19% and groundnut – 53.22% in the state. Many rice growing districts of the state sacrificed the area under rice to coconut over the past two decades. Expanding acreage of coconut in the state of Tamil Nadu is an obscure drift in food security perspective.