We’ve all at some point heard about the amazing health benefits of coconut. But are we aware about its history and everything that goes into its production?
September 2 has been designated as World Coconut Day by Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), which is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. September 2 is also the foundation day of APCC. All the major coconut-growing countries including India are its member. But why did it decide to mark this day as World Coconut Day?
Coconut Farmers: The People behind Our Favorite Super-food
World Coconut Day is not just about coconuts, it’s about the people who produce them. There is little awareness about the difficulties faced by the farmers who are coconut cultivators. Farmers in the countries which are members of APCC, suffer poverty and many other challenges. In India itself, they face natural disasters like cyclones. Locust attacks also cause them huge losses. And after everything, it is difficult for them to even get a minimum price for their crops. This takes us to our next point.
More Supply, Less Demand
One of the problems of the coconut industry is that many a times the supply exceeds the demand. There has been an increased awareness about the health benefits of coconut in the recent years; however it still seems that its growing popularity is not enough. We certainly need to add coconut more and more in our diet and life, and that can be done on a large scale only when the knowledge of its advantages is possessed by everyone.
Coconut Industry: Highs and Lows
The coconut industry is growing at a slow and steady pace. Promoting it would mean a lot of other things and these include encouraging small farm holders and creating more investment opportunities. The growth of coconut industry also means the growth of everyone associated with it. This would help many families in leaving behind poverty.
Bottom-line: So Why Is World Coconut Day Celebrated?
The World Coconut Day was celebrated for the first time in 2009. Ever since then, it is an occasion observed by farmers, experts, and business owners with great enthusiasm every year. Its main aim is to raise awareness about coconuts internationally. Increased awareness about coconuts would help farmers get the right price for their crops and eliminate the gap between supply and demand. It would also help the coconut industry grow.
This coconut day let us all pledge to know more about coconuts, cook a delicious dish with it, and take care of our skin, hair, and health.
