Agriculture ministry circular, areca under ambit PMKSY

Agriculture ministry circular, areca under ambit PMKSY

Mangalore Today News Network

 Mangaluru, Sep 24,2016: As per reports, in what is seen as a major relief for areca nut growers, ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare has revised guidelines pertaining to PMKSY,  Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yogana . In revision of its earlier circular dated August 9, 2016 wherein areca nut and tobacco growers were kept outside the ambit of PMKSY, department of agriculture, cooperative and farmer welfare in the ministry has issued a new circular on September 21 including areca nut.

The PMKSY pertains to inclusion of plantation crops in the ambit of micro irrigation scheme and where farmers growing the crops up to a ceiling of five hectare are eligible for financial assistance. As per the revised September 21 order, now tobacco is the only crop kept outside the scheme’s purview. Incidentally, this subject was debated by farmer members in the general body of the AGM of multi-state cooperate The CAMPCO Ltd on September 17.

S R Satischandra, president, CAMPCO had assured the concerned farmers that the cooperative would intervene to resolve the crisis. Accordingly, delegation headed by Satischandra, A Subrahmanya Bhat, former MD, CAMPCO; H S Manjappa, cooperator, Araga Jnanendra, former MLA and H S Shivakumar, president, TUMCOS under the guidance of D V Sadananda Gowda, union minister visited Delhi and met S K Pattanayak, agriculture secretary.

The delegation highlighted the issue in the August 9 circular and requested for rectification. Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi was kind enough to come to rescue of areca nut farmers and immediately revised its Order vide F.No.11-21/2016-Hort dated September 21, 2016 and now even areca nut growers are also eligible for availing benefit under PMKSY scheme, he said and thanked the union government for intervening effectively on behalf of areca nut growers.