The State government will form a five-member committee consisting of experts from various institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Management, for the comprehensive development of the cashew sector.
“The committee will be constituted within a week and the order for the same will be issued shortly,” Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said after meeting exporters, private processors and trade union representatives on Tuesday. The committee will study the problems of cashew processors and workers and explore ways to modernise the sector.
Report
“The committee will be asked to submit a report in three months. An action plan will be formulated after conducting a detailed study of various factors, including mechanisation, quality assurance, PF and bonus of the labourers and other issues,” said the Minister.
As part of the revival strategy, the department will seek the opinions of various stakeholders on how to utilise the ₹30-crore package announced by the government to support the sector. While more measures will be taken to make the functioning of the Cashew Board more efficient, a proposal to issue “made in Kerala” certification to the products is also under consideration. Strengthening the domestic market with quality value-added products will be another area of focus. “Government, factory owners and workers should stand together to tide over the current crisis. Modernisation is essential for the sector since we need to reduce production cost. Advanced technology and mechanisation should be used to move forward. With the mindset that the government should fix everything, we will not get anywhere. The government support all fair demands,” said the Minister.
KSCDC mobile unit
Mr. Rajeeve flagged off the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation’s (KSCDC) mobile unit with modern amenities and handed over the contract with the Kerala State Cooperative Consumer’s Federation to sell KSCDC products through Consumerfed’s marketing outlets.
He also inaugurated ‘Kanivu’, a scheme for bedridden cashew labourers, that offers them a financial assistance of ₹5,000 and Onapudava during the festival season.
