The activists of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) staged a protest in the city on Monday demanding that the Union government initiate measures to stabilise the price of arecanut.
The activists of KRRS took out a protest march from Ashoka Circle that passed through the city’s main streets. Addressing a protest meet on the premises of the office of the Deputy Commissioner, H.R. Basavarajappa, Working President of KRRS, said that there has been a sharp decline in the price of arecanut in last one year. “The price of rashi variety of arecanut, that was traded at Rs. 300 per kg in June 2015, has come down to Rs. 230 now. The prices of idi, gorabalu, and bette varieties have also witnessed a similar slump. By the month of June, farmers usually sell the stock at their disposal and clear the agricultural loans they had borrowed from banks and cooperative societies. Owing to the slump in the price, farmers are hesitating to sell their produce,” he said.
He blamed the unabated import of arecanut as the reason for decline in the price. Though arecanut growers and elected representatives from the State had requested Union Minister for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman to impose a total ban on import of arecanut to ensure remunerative price for the locally-grown produce, no action has been taken, he said. Regarding the damage caused by drought on the arecanut crop, he said according to the information provided by the Department of Horticulture, there will be a decline in arecanut yield by about 40 percent in the district . He pressed the government to provide compensation for the farmers who have suffered crop loss.
He said owing to the decline in the prices of coconut and ginger, farmers who have cultivated them are in distress.
He demanded that the government take measures to ensure scientific price for coconut and ginger crops.
