Kerala, the land of coconuts, is in the grip of an unprecedented agrarian crisis, thanks to the plummeting price of the nut. A unique campaign has now been unleashed across the state in an attempt to salvage the situation.

Church leaders in Kerala are spearheading a farmers movement that exhorts people to boycott cheaply-imported palm oil in favour of coconut oil and to replace Coca-Cola and Pepsi with coconut water.

Two months after the movement was launched, the results are remarkable: village after village has boycotted palm oil. College students are saying "No" to Coke, Pepsi and other bottled drinks. "Our campaign has been successful, since it is against the ill-effects of globalisation and for the survival of the farmers," claims Archbishop George Valiamattom of the Thalassery diocese in north Kerala.

Archbishop George Valiamattom

It began when a coconut plantation owner in Alakode in the north Kerala district of Kannur put a public notice outside his estate: "You can pluck and take away coconuts without permission." Archbishop Valiamattom says the notice sent a powerful message: Cultivating coconuts was no longer of any value. "We felt the misery of the farmers as the price of coconuts fell." So the Karshaka Munnetta Samiti (Progressive Farmers Group) was formed, with Father Antony Kozhuvanal as director.

"There were two reasons behind the destruction of the cash crop that had been sustaining the state for decades. The first is the mindless globalisation that has made inroads into the state; the second is Phytophthora Palmivora, an infectious disease that renders the coconut crop useless. We have found a cure for the disease. We are now fighting to remedy the ill-effects of globalisation. Isn't it ironic that while we produce coconut oil which is the best cooking oil available in the country today, we still import palm oil? Isn't it sad that we drink Coca-Cola and Pepsi, when tender coconut water is more tasty and healthy?"

Cooking oil processed from the kernel is the main product of the coconut. But, over the years, the cheap import of palm oil, aided by the liberalisation-globalisation regime, has led to a steep fall in the price of both the nut and its oil. According to the central government's Coconut Development Board, which is based in Cochin, Kerala produces the largest number of coconuts in the world. In 1999, India produced 14,924 million coconuts of which Kerala accounted for 6,672 million.

Coconut oil, which was sold for Rs 70 a kilo some years ago, is now being sold Rs 30 per kilo. After the state government allowed the import of palm oil, local grocery shops have been flooded with it; palm oil is now available at Rs 19 per kilo. Out of the nearly 250,000 tonnes of edible oil that Kerala consumes every year, palm oil now accounts for more than 200,000 tonnes. Besides, in the past two years, the price of the coconut fell from Rs 7 to Rs 2. "The farmers are depressed because the cost of maintaining a coconut tree is more than the returns they derive from it," says Archbishop Valiamattom. "So we felt our stir should start with an anti-palm oil movement."

The protest movement, which began in the districts of Kannur and Kozhikode, saw quick results. Koorachund, a nondescript village in Kozhikode, became the first 'liberated' panchayat when its inhabitants pledged publicly they would not buy palm oil. In a show of solidarity, they destroyed cans of palm oil. Restaurant owners threw palm oil-cooked snacks and food into the drain.

"Like Koorachund, many villages in the state are beginning to boycott cheap, imported palm oil. Our agitation has become so strong that countries like Malaysia now send ministers and officials to the state to study how the anti-palm oil movement might affect their exports," says John Mathew, a coconut estate owner in Kottayam.

Father Antony says the farmers will continue the protest campaign till the government stops the import of palm oil. "We have only one demand -- we want to restore the coconut's old glory."

The Kerala Vyapaari Vyavasaayi Ekopana Samithi, the state's largest merchants union, has extended a helping hand to the farmers struggle. It has said, to begin with, its members will not sell or buy palm oil in Kozhikode district. "The crash in the price of the coconut has destroyed the purchasing power of the people. Our businesses, too, have been dull because farmers do not have the money to buy anything. So our survival is also at stake," says KVVES member Mohammad Bashir.

Meanwhile, the farmers and activists have focused their ire on Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other bottled drinks. Church leaders say they want to flush out Coke and Pepsi from the state. "Tender coconut water is the best drink available in the world. When it is available in plenty in the state, why should the people consume Coke and Pepsi?" argues Archbishop Jacob Thumkuzhy of the Trichur diocese.

This drive too is bearing fruit. Last month, around 5,000 college students from various parts of the state pledged they would not consume bottled drinks.

Though the campaign began without political overtones or support, its success has now attracted politrial attention. Former prime ministers V P Singh and H D Deve Gowda have travelled to the state to offer their support for the campaign. But Kerala's bishops want to protect the movement from both religion and politics. "Politicians and farmers are now joining our campaign," says Archbishop Valiamattom, "because it is the biggest, non-violent, pro-farmer swadeshi movement in India today."

Design and illustration: Dominic Xavier

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