Kerala is expecting an investment surge in plantations in the state as the government is poised to introduce a policy proposing diversification in the sector, Industries Minister P. Rajeev said on Monday.

“A report of the IIM-Kozhikode is before us. We are holding discussions with all stakeholders. Utilising this opportunity will bring large-scale investments into the plantation sector,” the Minister said at a regional conference on Plantation, High-tech Farming and Value-added Rubber Products Industries.

The roundtable, which seeks to boost the government’s efforts to make Kerala a global destination for innovative technology, was part of an ongoing series to facilitate a suitable ecosystem.

The discussions on plantations, which come under a list of 22 priority sectors of the state as per the New Industrial Policy, were held as part of the government’s preparations for next year’s Global Investor Meet.

The Minister’s statement comes in the wake of IIM-Kozhikode suggesting to go for tropical fruit trees, also of the exotic variety, alongside existing plantation crops.

The institution, in its study submitted to the government last month, had also sought to promote a public-private partnership model to establish a Kerala brand for plantation crops and promote silviculture as well as agroforestry.

Rajeev, noting that the innovative K-Swift scheme facilitates starting businesses “within just one minute”, said getting its principal approval letter will further simplify matters, including loans.

He added that Kerala currently topped the country’s list of states in Ease of Doing Business.

Calling upon industrialists to join the government’s efforts to improve awareness about the legislative amendments, the Minister said such a collective spirit would boost Kerala’s business-friendliness.

The session was followed by a panel discussion, which was addressed by the Rubber Board Executive Director and others who stressed the need for the emergence of value-added industries to make the rubber sector profitable. Since Kerala accounts for 71 per cent of the country’s natural rubber production, the state needs to promote the manufacturing of value-added rubber products, the panellists emphasised.