Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, inaugurated the sixth state centre of Coconut Development Board in Junagadh in Gujarat on World Coconut Day.

Other five state centres are situated at Pitapalli (Odisha), Kolkata, Thane, Vijayawada and Port Blair.

World Coconut Day is celebrated every year on September 2 to commemorate the foundation day of the International Coconut Community (ICC). 

Coconut Development Board

• Coconut Development Board (CDB) is a statutory body established by the government of India by an Act of Parliament (Coconut Development Board Act 1979) and came into existence in January 1981. 

• Its headquarters is situated at Kochi. There are regional offices in Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati and Patna. 

The thrust areas of the CDB programmes under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) are:

• Production and distribution of quality planting material.

• Expansion of area under coconut cultivation especially in potential and non-traditional areas.

• Improving the productivity of coconut in major coconut producing states.

• Developing technology in post-harvest processing and marketing activities.

• Product diversification and by-product utilization of coconut for value addition.

• Dissemination of information and capacity building in the coconut sector.

Major programmes that are being implemented by the Board are:

• Production and Distribution of Quality Planting Materials

• Technology Mission on Coconut

• Replanting & Rejuvenation of Old Coconut Gardens

• Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme

• Kera Suraksha Insurance Scheme.

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