A delegation of Members of Parliament and representatives of areca nut farmers met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi, seeking action against the illegal import of areca nuts and raising various other pressing issues faced by farmers.

the delegation led by Shivamogga MP B.Y. Raghavendra, Uttara Kannada MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta, and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary met the agriculture minister at the Agriculture Bhavan, New Delhi.  Farmer representatives from Sagar and Sirsi regions, including H.S. Manjappa Soraba and Gopalakrishna Vaidya, President of The Totagar’s Co-operative Sale Society, were part of the delegation.

Key demands made by the delegation included:

• Immediate measures to prevent the illegal import of areca nuts into India.
• Increasing the moisture content limit for areca nuts, as prescribed by FSSAI, from 7% to 11%.
• Reducing the GST on areca nut freight from 18% to 5%.

Minister Assures Action

After listening to the delegation, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded positively and assured them that efforts would be made to address the farmers’ concerns.

The delegation also included U.T. Ramappa, Anil Odeyar, Mallikarjun Sagar, Narasimha Hegde (Director of The Totagar’s Co-operative Sale Society), Prakash Hegde Hulagol (Finance and Business Advisor), and Girish Chidanand Hegde (Acting General Manager).