The Hindu Business Line : Campco to be arecanut market stabiliser

THE Kerala Government, which has come out with a Rs 10-crore subsidy scheme to stabilise the arecanut market in the State, has appointed the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd as the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme.

A press release issued by the Campco President, Mr L.N. Kudoor, said here on Wednesday that the Additional Chief Secretary of the Kerala Government, Mr C. Ramachandran, and the Campco Secretary, Mr A.V. Divakaran, signed an agreement in this regard in the presence of the Kerala Agriculture Minister, Ms Gowri Amma, in Thiruvananthapuram recently.

Mr Kudoor said the purchase of arecanut under the scheme would begin in all the centres and sub-centres of Campco in the State as soon as the Kerala Government releases the amount, and will be in force till March 15.

To avail themselves of the benefits of the scheme, growers should have the panchayat krishi bhavan's photo identity card.

He said the scheme has been devised in such a way that the growers in Kerala should be able to get Rs 60 a kg of arecanut.

If the market price goes below Rs 60 a kg, the difference amount - up to a maximum of Rs 10 - will be borne by Campco using the subsidy amount.

The release said that maximum of 50 quintals of arecanut can be purchased from a grower under the scheme.