World Coconut Day 2025 Celebrated at ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod

2 September 2025, Kasaragod

ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, celebrated World Coconut Day 2025 with the theme “Uncovering Coconuts’ Power, Inspiring Global Action”.

The inaugural session was presided over by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticultural Sciences), ICAR. Dr. Singh emphasized the need for long-term planning, common thrust areas for researchers, and stronger collaboration and extension linkages to strengthen the coconut sector.

The event was also graced by Shri Rajmohan Unnithan, Member of Parliament, Kasaragod; H.E. Ambassador Diar Nurbiantoro, Director, NAM-CSSTC, Jakarta; Dr. J. Dinakara Adiga, Director, ICAR-DCR, Puttur; and Dr. B. A. Jerard, Project Coordinator, AICRP on Plantation Crops.

In his inaugural address, Shri Unnithan hailed coconut as the “Kalpa Vriksha” that sustains livelihoods, while cautioning against challenges posed by climate change and volatile prices. He called for greater focus on value addition, product diversification, and exports to establish coconut products as a strong global brand.

In his welcome remarks, Dr. K. Balachandra Hebbar, Director, ICAR-CPCRI, highlighted the institute’s global leadership in coconut research and collaborative initiatives.
He underlined threats from climate variability, market fluctuations, and emerging pests and diseases such as rugose spiraling whitefly and black-headed caterpillar. He stressed the importance of germplasm conservation, sustainable soil and water management, fertigation, carbon sequestration, and waste-to-wealth technologies. Dr. Hebbar also stated that CPCRI’s 464 germplasm accessions hold significant promise for future breeding programs.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Jelfina C. Alouw, Director General, ICC, Jakarta, described coconut as a climate-vulnerable crop facing global competition. She urged ICC member countries to collaborate closely, share technologies and germplasm, and link resilience with value addition and shared prosperity.

As part of the celebration, seven achievers including four innovative farmers and three entrepreneurs were felicitated with CPCRI awards. The programme also saw the release of three publications, launch of a new bio-product for soil health management, and signing of six MoUs for technology transfer.

The technical sessions included a Stakeholder Meeting on farmer empowerment and an International Workshop on genetic conservation and climate-resilient strategies.
The event witnessed participation from about 300 delegates, including 30 foreign members of the International Coconut Community (ICC) representing Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Brazil, France, and the Caribbean islands. Stakeholders from NABARD, state extension agencies, entrepreneurs, scientists, farmers, FPOs, and NGOs also actively participated in the programme.

(Source: ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod)