Senior scientists and officers have appealed to areca growers to go for value-added products of arecanut to tackle the fluctuation of its price in the market.
They spoke at a national workshop on value-added products of arecanuts organised by Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, ICAR-CPCRI Kasargod, Directorate of Areca and Spices Development (DASD) and other organizations in Shivamogga on Tuesday.
Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner R. Selvamani, who inaugurated the workshop, said Karnataka had been the highest grower of arecanut, and the contribution of Shivamogga district to the overall production in the country is significant. The growers could enhance their income by adding value to their produce. “Every part of an areca plant is useful. I have seen many farmers dumping areca husks along the roadside. They should make proper use of it”, he said.
He also appealed to the scientists to find solutions for the leaf-spot and yellow-leaf diseases that had been bothering the areca growers.
Ravi Bhat, principal scientist at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute at Kasargod, said the growers normally explore the possibility of adding value to their produce when the price has fallen in the market. For the past four years, the areca price has not fallen.
“Adopting measures necessary to enhance the quantity of yield, reducing the cost of production, and following scientific methods in growing areca, are also means of adding value to the product. There has been extensive research on adding value to areca in recent years. Farmers should follow them,” he said. He also gave examples of experiments in different places where areca had been used in manufacturing clothes.
Femina, Deputy Director of DASD, stressed the need for looking into the medicinal value of arecanut and the impact of arecanut on human health, besides the distribution and consumption of the product in the country.
Many entrepreneurs who have been manufacturing and marketing value-added products from arecanuts participated in the exhibition organised as part of the event.
Latya Y.S. of Yadagere in N.R. Pura taluk exhibited arecanut garlands that she had been selling for the last 15 years. She manufactures garlands that are sold for ₹200 to ₹2,000. Annually, she would earn ₹2 lakh. Besides that, a couple of entrepreneurs exhibited export-quality utensils made of areca leaves.
