Lok Sabha Question No. 2790 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-18
Subject: Setting-up of Arecanut Board in Karnataka
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Prabha Mallikarjun

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO . 2790

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18 TH MARCH, 2025

## SETTING-UP OF ARECANUT BOARD IN KARNATAKA

2790 . DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN :

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state : (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Karnataka  being  the  largest  producer  of arecanut  in  the  country  cultivated  over  5  lakh  hectare  which  contributes  more  than  50 percent of production, areca plant is being cultivated in coastal, malnad/ semi-malnad and recently in drier and plain areas of the State; (b)  if  so,  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  better  price  for  the  producers, regulate import of arecanut to prevent fall of arecanut price and control the fruit rot, yellow leaf disease, root decay of the crop; (c)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  set  up  Arecanut  Board  in  Karnataka  for processing, marketing, developing, value addition, regulating the price of arecanut on the lines of Makhana Board of Bihar; (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and (e) the details of crop specific boards functioning across the country along with their role and responsibilities, Headquarters and regional offices?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी ( SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR ) (a) & (b):

Karnataka ranks first in arecanut production with 10 lakh metric tonnes from an area of 6.8 lakh hectare (ha) out of total production of 14.11 lakhs metric tonnes from area of 9.4 lakh ha in the country as per final estimate 2023-24. The arecanut imports are being  restricted  in  the  country  through  an  import  duty  of  100%  and  recently  revised Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Arecanuts from Rs. 251/kg to Rs.351/kg. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), along with its field formations and Directorate of

Revenue Intelligence (DRI) closely monitors areas prone to illegal arecanut imports and takes  action  under  the  Customs  Act,  1962.  Additionally,  Food  Safety  and  Standards Authority  of  India  (FSSAI)  enforces  stringent  quality  standards  before  clearing  import consignments. Further, State Horticulture Mission (SHM), Karnataka, has been sanctioned additional  amount  of  Rs.37.00  crores  (Government  of  India  share)  under  Mission  for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for management of diseases in arecanut as per their proposal in addition to regular activities of Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2024-25 .

(c) & (d): There is no such proposal under consideration, however several Government Agencies like Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Central Plantation Crops Research  Institute  (CPCRI),  Kasaragod,  Kerala  with  its  regional  stations at Vittal (Karnataka),  Kayamkulam  (Kerala)  and  research  centres  at  Kahikuchi  (Assam),  Kidu (Karnataka) and Mohitnagar (West Bengal) along with Arecanut Research Centre of Keladi Shivappa  Nayaka  University  of  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Sciences  at  Shivamogga (Karnataka) are involved in the research and development of arecanut sector. Directorate of  Arecanut and spices Development (DASD), Calicut under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare implements the frontline demonstration programmes in association with ICAR-  CPCRI,  to  promote  improved  technologies  to  increase  farmers'  income  and conducting training programmes under MIDH Scheme. The existing institutional mechanism provide sufficient support for research and development of this crop.

(e):  The  Details  of  crop  specific  boards  functioning  across  the  country  are  given  at Annexure .

## Annexure

|   S. No. | Name of the Board   | Ministry                         | Mandate/ Roles                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | Head Quarter          | Regional Office                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|----------|---------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Tea Board           | Ministry of Commerce & Industry. | The functions and responsibilities of Tea Board include increasing production and productivity, improving the quality of tea, market promotion, and welfare measures for plantation workers and supporting Research and Development. Collection, collation and dissemination of statistical | Kolkata, West Bengal. | North Eastern Region zonal office at Jorhat in Assam Southern Region at zonal office at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu Other regional office Guwahati, New Delhi, Siliguri, Mumbai, Kochi Coimbatore, Silchar, Kottayam, Agartala, Tezpur, Kurseong, Palampur, Jalpaiguri, Dibrugarh, Gudalur, Kumily and Itanagar                                              |
|        2 | Coffee Board        | Ministry of Commerce & Industry. | information to all The Board is mainly focusing its activities in the areas of research, extension, development, market intelligence, external & internal promotion and welfare measures.                                                                                                   | Bangalore, Karnataka. | The Board has a Central Coffee Research Institute at Balehonnur (Karnataka) with a Sub-Station at Chettalli and Regional Coffee Research Stations at Chundale, Thandigudi, Narasipatnam and Diphu, apart from the extension units located in coffee growing regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and North Eastern Region. |
|        3 | Rubber Board        | Ministry of Commerce & Industry. | The Board is responsible for the development of the rubber industry in the country by                                                                                                                                                                                                       | Kottayam, Kerala      | Marthandom, Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumangad, Punalur, Kottarakkara, Adoor,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |

|    |              |                                  | way of assisting and encouraging research, development, extension and training activities related to rubber. It also maintains statistical data of rubber, takes steps to promote marketing of rubber and undertake labour welfare activities.           |               | Pathanamthitta, Changanacherry, Kanjirappally, Pala, Erattupetta, Thodupuzha, Muvattupuzha, Thrissur, Palakkad, Mannarkkad, Nilambur, Manjeri, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Taliparamba, Sreekantapuram, Kanhangad, Kasaragod, Mangalore, Puttur, Kundapura, Shivamogga, Sawantawady, Baripada, Rampachodavaram, Agartala, Udaipur, Dharmanagar, Ambassa, Bishramganj, Santir Bazar, Guwahati, Agia, Nagaon,   |
|----|--------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  4 | Spices Board | Ministry of Commerce & Industry. | The primary function of the Board includes development of small and large cardamom, promotion, development, regulation of export of spices and control on quality of spices for export. The Spices Board also undertakes research activities on cardamom | Kochi, Kerala | Tura and Itanagar Bangalore, Theni, Thiruvallur, Gangtok, Guntur, Guwahati, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hassan, Tuticorin and Warangal                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

|    |                           |                                            | (small & large) under Indian Cardamom Research Institute.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |                        |                                                   |
|----|---------------------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
|  5 | Tobacco Board             | Ministry of Commerce & Industry.           | Responsible for the development of the tobacco industry. While the primary function of the Board is export promotion of all varieties of tobacco and its allied products, its functions extend to production, distribution (for domestic consumption and exports) and regulation of Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco. | Guntur, Andhra Pradesh | Ongole, Rajamahendravaram, Mysuru and Periyapatna |
|  6 | National Turmeric Board   | Ministry of Commerce & Industry.           | Promote the cultivation, production, processing, quality assurance and marketing of turmeric, thereby enhancing the income of turmeric farmers.                                                                                                                                                                        | Nizamabad, Telangana   | --                                                |
|  7 | Coconut Development Board | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare | A statutory body established by the Government of India for the integrated development of coconut production and utilization in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification.                                                                                                           | Kochi, Kerala          | Bengaluru, Guwahati, Coimbatore and Patna         |

|   8. | National Horticulture Board (NHB),   | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare                                       | To develop production clusters/hubs for integrated Hi-tech commercial horticulture, development of Post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure, ensuring availability of quality planting material and to promote adoption of new technologies/tools/ techniques for Hi- tech commercial5 horticulture etc.   | Gurugram, Haryana   | Vijayawada, Guwahati, Patna, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Shimla, Jammu, Srinagar, Ranchi, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, Gwalior, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur, Gangtok, Chennai, Hyderabad, Baghpat, Lucknow, Varanasi, Dehradoon and Kolkata   |
|------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    9 | National Medicinal Plants Board      | Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (Ayush) | To coordinate all matters related to medicinal plants, supporting policies and programs for their conservation, cultivation, trade, and export.                                                                                                                                                              | New Delhi           | --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |

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