No move to set up arecanut board in Karnataka: Union Government

MANGALURU The Union Government has reiterated that there is no proposal to constitute an arecanut board in Karnataka. Replying to an unstarred question by Prabha Mallikarjun, Member of Parliament, Davanagere in the Lok Sabha on March 18, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ramnath Thakur said, “No such proposal is under consideration.” Dr. Mallikarjun wanted to know whether an arecanut board has been proposed for processing, marketing, developing, value addition, regulating the price of arecanut on the lines of Makhana Board in Bihar. Several government agencies like Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala, with its regional stations at Vitla, Kayamkulam and research centres at Kahikuchi, Kidu and Mohitnagar with Arecanut Research Centre of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences in Shivamogga, are involved in the research and development in the arecanut sector. A decade-old demand More than a decade ago, Prakash Kammaradi, the then chairpersons of Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission, had stressed on the need to set up an arecanut board to protect the interests of growers, for value addition, to ensure remunerative price and to undertake research to prevent pest and fungal infection in the crop. “State Horticulture Mission, Karnataka, has been sanctioned additional amount of ₹37 crore under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture for management of diseases in arecanut, as per their proposal, in addition to regular activities of Annual Action Plan for 2024-25,” the Minister said on March 18.