Kerala's plantation sector to get Rs 8000 crore

Thiruvananthapuram, May 3 (UNI) Kerala's ailing plantation sector will get an investment of Rs 8000 crore in the next ten years for productivity enhancement and export promotion, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said today.

''Right now, 80 per cent of the allocation from the Commerce Ministry for infrastructure development and export promotion is consumed by five states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,'' he told newspersons here.

This trend would change in the coming days if other states also take some initiatives. The Centre would give priority to other states with export potential, he said, adding that the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) here will launch a programme to promote policy-oriented research on issues like price stabilisation and better productivity.

A sum of Rs two crore would be set apart for the five-year research programme, he added.

Stating that Kerala's problem in the agriculture sector was not because of the Centre's import policy, he said productivity should be increased to meet the challenges.

''In rubber, we are number one in terms of productivity.

We should replicate this in other crops also,'' he added.

UNI