K'taka announces Rs 10 MSP for arecanut

The Karnataka government today announced a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 10 per kg to arecanut growers in the state.

The government would spend a maximum of Rs 10,000 per farmer. This was announced by state deputy chief minister BS Yediyurappa after a meeting with a large delegation of arecanut growers led by Mangalore-based Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) here today. The MSP would be effective from the present season.

Campco president SR Rangamurthy told Business Standard that the deputy chief minister has also announced to release Rs 150 crore to banks and financial institutions towards the payment of loan waiver to the farmers as announced in the state budget this year. This would also benefit arecanut growers, he said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court has stayed the proposed ban on gutka. Bharatiya Kisan Sangha, Campco had moved the High Court against the ban on gutka saying it would harm the interests of arecanut trade. The cooperative, however, had urged the Centre to ban only harmful substance in gutka.

"Arecanut is one of the ingredients in gutka and it is not harmful to humans in any way, so it should not be banned," Rangamurthy said.

It may be noted that the Maharashtra government had proposed to ban gutka from August 10, 2007.