The Hindu : Coffee growers seek aid from Centre

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 21, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Coffee growers seek aid from Centre

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Sept. 20. The former Union Minister, D.K. Tara Devi Siddharth, met the Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, earlier this week and urged him to announce a relief package for coffee growers. The Finance Minister is said to have assured her that the demand would be considered.

She told presspersons here today that coffee growers were in financial difficulty due to the depressed market conditions. The cost of cultivation had gone up and most of the small planters were finding it difficult to raise finances. The Government should intervene at the earliest.

The plea of the coffee growers include waiver of interest on outstanding and re-phased loans from January 2001 to July 31, 2003; sanction of fresh crop loans at low interest rates; and rescheduling of non-performing assets and loans of coffee growers which were before the Debt Recovery Tribunal.

Ms. Siddharth said the Government should direct the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to reschedule loans from cooperative institutions.

The steep fall in prices since 1998, compounded by drought in the State, high cost of cultivation, and low returns had adversely impacted the coffee industry, she said.

She criticised the State Government for what she called the half-hearted implementation of drought relief programmes, even while the Centre had released funds and foodgrains to the State.

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