Bangalore, Nov 5 (PTI): The coffee plantation industry has submitted a joint memorandum to the Centre to include partnership firms in the debt waiver and debt relief scheme and to extend the scheme to growers upto 50 acres, Chairman of the Karnataka Planter's Association (KPA), C M Pemmaiah said.
Speaking at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Karnataka Palanter's Association, he said that the Centre has said that it would consider the request.
The Centre announced a debt waiver and debt relief package in the Union Budget of 2008 where debt waiver had been granted upto five acres but partnership firms and corporate sectors were kept out following which the industry urged the Centre to extend the scheme for growers upto 50 acres and to include partnership firms in the scheme.
"A separate package for the entire plantation industry is expected to be announced shortly", he said.
"The biggest hurdle faced by us has been the heavy debt due by growers to financial institutions and private money lenders. The debts which have accumulated had become unserviceable due to various factors including uncertainty of prices, raising cost of inputs, increase of wages, labour shortage, climatic factors, shortage of fertilizers and increase of transportation cost", he said
He also urged the state to ensure that sufficient fertilizers stocks were earmarked for the coffee growers since the crop was the backbone of the state's revenue, labour and foreign exchange.
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.