Plantation Crops and Employment Generation Quiz

Plantation Crops

• Plantation crops refer to crops cultivated on a large scale in a contiguous area, owned and managed by an individual or company, including tea, coffee, rubber, cocoa, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, palmyrah, cashew, and cinchona.
• These crops are high-value commercial crops of greater economic importance and play a vital role in the Indian economy.

Characteristics of Plantation Crops

• Major portion of the area is of small holdings (except tea), which hinders the adoption of intensive cultivation.
• In coffee, 97.13% of growers have holdings below ten hectares, and in rubber, 82% of the total area is of small holdings with an average size of 0.5 ha.

Importance of Plantation Crops

• Contribute to national economy by way of export earnings, accounting for around 27% of total agricultural commodities and 4.8% of total export.
• India is the leading country in the total production of certain plantation crops in the world, such as tea, cashew, and arecanut.
• Provide direct and indirect employment to many millions of people, for example, the tea industry offers direct employment to 10 lakhs and indirect employment to 10 lakh people.
• Support many by-product industries and rural industries, for example, coconut husk is used to produce coir fiber annually to a tune of 2,19,600 tones in India.
• Help conserve the soil and ecosystem, for example, tea planted in hill slopes and cashew in barren and waste lands protect the land from soil erosion.

Scope for Plantation Crops

• Expansion in non-traditional areas, such as North Eastern States, where there is irrigation potential.
• Export potential, as plantation crops earn foreign exchange, and products and by-products have export prospects and considerable internal demand.
• Employment generation, as cultivation of plantation crops provides year-round gainful employment on the farm and factories.
• Crop diversification, providing ample scope for diversification and sustainable agriculture.
• Availability of technology and yield gap, with considerable information on recent technologies available for these crops.

Comparison between Plantation Crops and Fruit Crops

• Climate: Tropical mainly between 20° N and 20° S Latitude for plantation crops, and tropics, subtropics, and temperate for fruit crops.
• Necessity of training and pruning: Less for plantation crops and more for fruit crops.
• Suitability for processing: Major portion of plantation crops is processed, whereas fruit crops are mostly consumed directly in fresh form.
• Perishability: Less or not perishable for plantation crops, and perishable for fruit crops.
• Export potential: Comparatively high for plantation crops, and some portion of fruits and preserved products are exported.

Status of Plantation Crops in India

• Total area: 3880 '000 ha
• Total production: 16368 '000
• Productivity: 4.21

Important Research Stations on Plantation and Beverage Crops

• Coconut: Central Plantation Crop Research Institute, Kasargod, Kerala
• Arecanut: CPCRI, Regional Research Station, Vittal, Karnataka
• Cocoa: CPCRI, Regional Research Station, Vittal, Karnataka
• Rubber: Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam, Kerala
• Cashew: Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur, Karnataka
• Oil Palm: National Research Centre, Elur, Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh
• Palmyrah: Srivaliputtur, Tamil Nadu
• Tea: Tea Research Institute, United Planters Association of South India (UPASI), Valparai, Tamil Nadu
• Coffee: Central Coffee Research Institute, Balehonnur, Karnataka