K.T. Gangadhar, working president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) has urged the Union and the State governments to initiate measures to establish an arecanut board to address the problems of growers.
In the past, the arecanut growers had incurred loss owing to fluctuation in price and pest and fungal infections.
The proposed board would be able to help the growers evolve solutions to these problems, he said at a press conference here on Thursday.
Following a recommendation by the Agriculture Price Commission, the State government, a technical committee, comprising agricultural scientists, officials of the Department of Horticulture and functionaries of arecanut growers’ cooperative societies, had been formed. The proposed board should be on the lines of the boards established for spices, rubber, coffee and tobacco. It should be formed through enactment of a law, he said. Mr. Gangadhar blamed the import of low quality arecanut for the decline in the price of indigenous variety. As the import duty being charged was low under the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA), and imports from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries enjoyed total exemption, arecanut was being imported from these countries under international trade agreements. This had led to a steep decline in the prices of local varieties of arecanut, causing severe loss to the producers.
Moreover, the yield of arecanut had come down drastically owing to fruit rot and yellow leaf diseases. The proposed board would guide the government on evolving suitable policies to curb the import of arecanut. It could also undertake a study and research on how to check the pest and fungal infection, he said.
Functionaries of KRRS Yashwanth Rao Ghorpade, Mohan Kudligere and Veeresh were present.
Objective of the prospective board should be to address problems of arecanut growers
There is a steep fall in the price of local variety of arecanut
Import of low quality arecanut blamed for fall
in price
Yield of local varieties declined owing to pest and fungal attacks
