Affected by the volatility in the arecanut market and increase in the production cost, arecanut growers (under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha) in Dakshina Kannada district have asked the State Government to solve their problems.

In this regard, the Dakshina Kannada district committee of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) will stage a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in Mangalore on Thursday.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr Ravikirana Punacha, working president of the Hasiru Sene wing of KRRS, said that the volatility in the market, increase in production cost and diseases plaguing the arecanut plantations have led many farmers to debt traps.

Yellow leaf disease

He said that many arecanut plantations in northern Kodagu district and southern parts of Dakshina Kannada district are affected by yellow leaf disease. In spite of research by various agencies, no solution has been found to the problem.

In such a situation, the Government should initiate steps to waive loans of affected growers and announce a rehabilitation package for them. It should also advice suitable alternative crop to the arecanut growers in those areas, he said.

Repeated appeals were made to both the Central and the State governments in this regard. In spite of this, the budgets of both the governments did have steps to tackle problems related to arecanut growers, Mr Punacha said.

He said that the production costs in agriculture and dairy farming are going up every day. In such a situation, the Government should fix a scientific production cost for these sectors.

Farm policies

Taking a dig at the agriculture policies of the governments, Mr Punacha said that the agriculture policy of one region may not hold good for the other region. In such a situation, steps should be taken to devise the policies based on the geographical conditions of the regions concerned, he said.

Adequate compensation should be paid to farmers whenever fertile land is acquired for any development project. Projects which are detrimental to the environment should not be allowed in the district, he said.

Mr Punacha said that Mr Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, President of KRRS, will lead the protest march in Mangalore on Thursday.

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