Keragramam (Kera Gramam) Coconut Development Scheme

What is the Keragramam scheme?

Keragramam, often written Kera Gramam, is the area-based coconut development scheme of the Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Kerala. According to the Directorate's coconut development page, the department implements the coconut development programme "in continuous areas called keragramam covering a minimum area of 250 ha", with the stated objective of increasing coconut production and productivity through replanting, integrated pest and disease management, integrated nutrient management, promotion of inter-cultivation, improved irrigation, promotion of value addition, assured availability of quality planting materials and employment generation.

The idea behind Keragramam is straightforward. Coconut productivity in Kerala is held down by ageing and diseased palms, poor nutrition and root wilt, and none of those problems can be fixed on a single half-acre holding while the neighbouring gardens stay untreated. Keragramam therefore takes a whole locality, a minimum of 250 contiguous hectares, and treats it as one management unit, so that replanting, pest control and manuring happen across the whole block in the same season.

The wider coconut development head under which Keragramam sits carried an allocation of Rs 5,000 lakh in the sanction published by the Directorate, under head of account 2401-00-103-87, with the overall aim of "integrated development of holdings aimed at maximising income from unit area".

Keragramam is a state scheme run by the Agriculture Department, and should not be confused with the Coconut Development Board's central schemes, which are a separate route.

What does a farmer get under Keragramam?

Keragramam delivers most of its benefit in kind, through the Krishi Bhavan, rather than as a cash transfer. The components published by the Directorate include:

• Cultural operations with integrated nutrient management and integrated pest management; basin preparation, organic manure and fertiliser application, and treatment of pests such as the rhinoceros beetle and red palm weevil, and diseases such as bud rot and leaf rot.
• Replanting of palms, removal of old, unproductive and diseased palms and their replacement with quality planting material.
• Distribution of climbing devices, mechanical coconut climbers, which address the shortage of trained climbers and reduce the cost and risk of harvesting.
• Coconut nursery establishment, so that quality seedlings are produced locally within the Keragramam instead of being trucked in.
• Irrigation units, including pump sets, to bring assured irrigation to coconut gardens.
• Promotion of inter-cultivation: growing banana, tubers, vegetables, pepper or fodder between palms so that income from the same unit area rises.
• Panchayat-level operational cost for running the Keragramam programme.

Alongside these, the sanction provides:

• Rs 5 lakh per Keragramam of at least 250 hectares for strengthening the Kera Apex Society at panchayat level. The Apex Society is the local farmer institution that aggregates nuts, negotiates prices, organises input supply and takes up processing.
• An innovation fund of Rs 200 lakh supporting eco-friendly technologies, model farms, small-scale value-addition units and drip irrigation, within which Rs 20 lakh is set aside for block-level awareness campaigns on the health benefits of coconut and coconut oil.
• Model farms of at least 0.20 hectares planted with high-yielding dwarf or hybrid coconut varieties, to demonstrate scientific practice locally.

A district-level illustration of how the money reaches the ground: reporting on the Keragramam project launched at Aralam in Kannur district in August 2025 put the outlay at Rs 37.67 lakh spread over three years for the distribution of seeds, fertilisers and other inputs — Rs 25.67 lakh in the first year, Rs 8 lakh in the second and Rs 4 lakh in the third. That front-loaded pattern is typical: the heaviest spending goes into the establishment year, with tapering maintenance support afterwards.

Who is eligible for Keragramam?

You can be enrolled if:

• You own or lawfully cultivate a coconut holding inside a contiguous area notified as a Keragramam by the Agriculture Department. This is the single decisive test.
• You are a resident of Kerala and your holding is recorded with the Krishi Bhavan of that panchayat.
• You register on the AIMS portal and obtain a SMART Registration ID, which the department uses for beneficiary records and payments.
• You are willing to follow the package of practices the Keragramam prescribes, replanting where advised, scheduled manuring, and joint pest management.

You cannot apply or are not eligible if:

• Your coconut garden lies outside the notified Keragramam area. Keragramam is area-based, not applicant-based, and there is no provision to extend it to an isolated holding. Ask your Krishi Bhavan whether your ward is proposed for a future Keragramam.
• The block you are in has not been allotted a Keragramam for the current financial year. Selection is made block-wise each year against the department's financial target.
• You are seeking a cash grant. Keragramam does not pay a per-farmer cash benefit; support is in kind, plus institutional grants to the Kera Apex Society.
• You are applying as an institution or trader rather than a cultivator. The farmer-facing components are for cultivators; value-addition support runs through the Kera Apex Society and registered producer groups.

What documents are required for Keragramam?

How to apply for Keragramam

1. Check whether your ward is inside a Keragramam. Ask the Agricultural Officer at your Krishi Bhavan for the current year's Keragramam map for the panchayat. Because the unit is a contiguous 250-hectare block, two neighbours on either side of a boundary can have different answers.
2. Register on the AIMS portal at aims.kerala.gov.in and note your SMART Registration ID. Registration is free, one-time and reusable for every future Agriculture Department service.
3. Submit the Keragramam application at the Krishi Bhavan with your Aadhaar, bank passbook and land tax receipt. State the number of palms, the age profile of the garden and whether you want replanting, irrigation, inter-cropping support or a climbing device.
4. Let the Agricultural Assistant inspect the garden. The field officer records the palm count, identifies diseased and unproductive palms marked for removal, and drafts the package of practices for your holding.
5. Join the Kera Apex Society of the panchayat if one has been formed. The Rs 5 lakh institutional grant flows through the Society, and members get first access to aggregated input supply and to value-addition units.
6. Collect the sanctioned inputs, seedlings, fertiliser, plant protection material, climbing device; from the Krishi Bhavan at the season the department schedules, and follow up on your AIMS dashboard.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the Krishi Bhavan of the grama panchayat in which the coconut holding lies, during office hours.
2. Give the Agricultural Officer a written request naming the Keragramam components you want, along with copies of your land tax receipt, Aadhaar card and bank passbook.
3. Ask for the Krishi Bhavan's acknowledgement and the name of the Agricultural Assistant assigned to your ward.
4. If the Krishi Bhavan does not act, escalate to the Assistant Director of Agriculture at block level, and then to the Principal Agricultural Officer at district level.

Why Keragramam applications get rejected

• Holding outside the notified area. The commonest reason, and one no appeal can cure for the current year.
• No AIMS registration. Beneficiary records and payments run on AIMS, so an unregistered farmer cannot be entered.
• Land record not matching. Where the tax receipt shows a different survey number or extent from what the field officer measures, the case is held until the revenue record is corrected.
• Physical target exhausted. Each Keragramam has a fixed number of units; climbing devices, irrigation units, seedlings, and applications beyond the target roll into the next year.
• Replanting refused. Where a farmer declines to remove the diseased or unproductive palms the field officer has marked, replanting assistance for that holding is not sanctioned.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Agriculture Development and Farmers' Welfare, Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram 695033 to 0471-2304481, 0471-2304480, cru.agridir@kerala.gov.in
• Krishi Bhavan of your grama panchayat; first point of contact for enrolment, inputs and grievances.
• Assistant Director of Agriculture (block) and Principal Agricultural Officer (district) for escalation.
• AIMS portal, aims.kerala.gov.in, for application status on your dashboard.

Enrolment in a Keragramam is free. No agent or middleman can charge a coconut farmer to be added to a Krishi Bhavan beneficiary list.