The Hindu Business Line : Arecanut growers seek crop cover

Mangalore, March 5 The arecanut sector, which witnessed huge crop loss due to fruit rot disease during the last season, is unhappy with the Budget. Though the sector expected insurance scheme for the crop in the Budget following the huge loss in the previous season, it did not materialise.

Mr S.R. Rangamurthy, President of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd, told Business Line that crop insurance scheme was a must for arecanut as many farmers are dependent on this commodity.

“The arecanut sector witnessed crop loss to the tune of 40 per cent due to the onslaught of fruit rot disease last year. But there is no measure to compensate for this loss. A crop insurance scheme for arecanut would help growers,” he said.

Mr Rangamurthy said a delegation from the sector would be taken to New Delhi soon to seek inclusion of the arecanut in the crop insurance scheme.

While presenting the Budget proposals for 2008-09, the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, had said a crop insurance scheme for tea, rubber, tobacco, chilli, ginger, turmeric, pepper and cardamom would be introduced next year.

Mr M. Srinivasa Achar, President of All-India Areca Growers’ Association, said around 30 lakh families in the country were dependent on arecanut sector. Unlike other plantation crops that were located only in a few States, arecanut was grown in most part of the country. It was predominantly grown in Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

“In such a situation, there is no reason for leaving arecanut out of crop insurance scheme,” he said.

According to the database prepared by Directorate of Arecanut and Spices, arecanut was grown on 3.74 lakh hectares of land in the country during 2004-05. Production during that year was 4.56 lakh tonnes. Karnataka’s share during that year stood at 2.03 lakh tonnes.

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