CAMPCO chief sore over untimely announcement of support price

CAMPCO chief sore over untimely announcement of support price

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Feb 5: CAMPCO President Konkodi Padmanabha has said that the government through its untimely announcement of   support price for areca over the past several years, has hit hard the small and medium areca growers.

Speaking to press persons at the CAMPCO office on February 5, Friday,  he said the chaali adike variety  which has entered the market, costs around Rs 65 to Rs 70 and the grower’s  are unwillingly selling it at a low cost, as they have no other way out to repay the interest on their bank loans.

 

 

Giving details of the talks which a delegation led by him held with the Chief Minister at Bangalore on February 4, Padmanabha said the CM who studied the problems of the areca growers expressed the government’s inability to fix the support price at Rs 85, but agreed to fix the same at Rs 75 and also to release Rs 5 crore to purchase areca at a support price of Rs 75.

Home Minister Dr V S Acharya, Medical Education Minister Ramachandre Gowda, DK district in-charge Minister Krishna J Palemar, Minister  for Agricultural Marketing S S Sangadagi, and other senior governmental officials were present during the meeting.

The delegation which met the CM included MP Nalin Kumar, Coastal Development Authority Chairman B Nagaraj Shetty, Legislators, Yogish Bhat, Mallika Prasad, S Angara, MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik, Padmanabha Kottari, DK District BJP President, Sanjeev Matandoor, Director, CAMPCO, Radhakrishna Kote and D B Balakrishna, he informed.

Padmanabha also stated that he had plans to meet Kerala government authorities to request for grants to areca growers in the state, as CAMPCO even had a branch in Kerala.