Lakshadweep

The islands occupy an area of 3,000 ha. Agriculture is confined only to specific areas around habitations. The soils are medium to deep, alkaline in reaction and low in soil fertility. The land use is dominated by plantation crops like coconut and arecanut. The important crops grown are rice and pulses under rainfed conditions. Suggested interventions for natural resource management for agriculture in the state are as follows:

    � Diversification of rice-rice with rice-pulse requiring less water

    � Amelioration of alkaline soils

Coconut

Coconut is cultivated in 2,700 ha with total production of 8,750 nuts/ha/year. The reasons for very low productivity are low-yielding, senile palms, high plant population per unit area and lack of adoption of farming system approach. The technologies suggested to improve the productivity are:

� Replanting with improved hybrids Laccadive Ordinary, COD � WCT, WCT � COD and

  CGD � WCT

� Adoption of high-density multispecies cropping system with banana, ginger, pineapple and vegetables

� Converting coconut waste into vermicompost for organic recycling

� Adoptions of integrated disease management strategy

Farm Tools and Equipment

� Coconut climber

� Coconut dehusker

Fisheries

With a coastline of 132 km, annual fish production is about 10,000 tonnes marine fish in Lakshdweep, while the potential is ten-fold higher. Through the following interventions, the islands� fish production can be substantially increased:

       � Long line tuna fishing to exploit yellowfin tuna

       � Introduction of more pole and line in northern islands

       � Diversified fishing

       � Provision of bait fish for tuna fishing

       � Establishing overseas market linkages for exporting tuna.