Ag economist predicts price rise for next two years

Ag economist predicts price rise for next two years

Mangalore Today News Network

MANGALORE, July 08, 2014:  Forecasting, that the upward trend in the price of areca visible in the last few months to continue till 2016, agricultural economist and professor at Vivekananda College, Puttur, Vigneshwara Varmudi  anlysed the subject.

Predictions on the fall of areca price next year due to drought in Gujarat which is the main consumer of areca produced in DK coastal districts, he doubted  drought would affect areca consumption.

People in North India are addicted to areca and areca consumption will not be stopped because of drought. Rather the price of areca is likely to be on the higher side, as the production will be low as against the demand. Deficit rainfall would probably affect areca production for next two years.

He was delivering a talk on ‘challenges in marketing agricultural produce’ organised by Vijaya Rural Development Foundation, for agriculturists and customers at Vijaya Bank Regional Office July 7. Ruling out the fear of areca ban, the researcher said that the government has agreed to fight in the Supreme Court to prove that areca is not harmful. Areca’s  medicinal values have to be proved in the court.

Areca growers should not heed rumours that lead to fall in the price of areca, he cautioned.

Pointing at the lack of market facilities for selling the agriculture produce, Prof Varmudi said that though the government has been supporting the agriculture production, attention is not paid enough to marketing of the produce. The market scenario continues to be the same as it was more than six decades ago. The number of regulated markets in the country is just around seven thousand, as against the ideal of  40,000 markets. The existing markets are not adequate to cater to the needs of the farmers. The problem of middlemen in the sale of agriculture produce has heightened the problems he indicated.

“Agriculture is hailed as the backbone of the country, but only lip service is evident he said. The growth of agriculture in India is at two per cent, where as it should be four per cent. The government and farmers are equally responsible for the current scenario. Farmers must realise that it is not just enough to be efficient in production, they should be efficient at professional management,” Prof Varmudi said.

He rued  the is lack of better facilities for farmers. There are no cold storage units to store the produce. The cold storage units available can store only 10 per cent of the vegetables grown in the country so 90 percent are lost. There is a need to give priority to value added products. Vijaya Bank Executive Director K R Shenoy was present and a good number of concerned people were attended.