PANJIM: In an important decision, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has given in-principle approval for 25 percent rise in the minimum support price for cashew nuts that is Rs 125 per kilogram, from the notified rate of Rs 105 per kg.
The decision comes following demand from cashew farmers, who claimed that the rate of Rs 105 per kg is not profitable. The farmers, however, had demanded price of Rs 200 per kg.
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Speaking to media persons after meeting with the chief minister, Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar said that CM has granted in-principle approval to the revised rate of Rs 125 per kg for cashew nuts. Kavlekar holds the agriculture portfolio.
Kavlekar further said that in-principle approval has also been granted for increasing the support price for coconut from Rs 10 per nut to Rs 12 per nut and ‘alsano’ to Rs 100 per kg from the existing rate of Rs 70 per kg.
“CM has granted in-principle approval for revised support prices for cashew, coconut and alsano. The file will now be forwarded to finance department for financial provisions,” he said.
“The farmers are the backbone of the society and it our duty to stand firmly behind the farmers and help them in whatever way we can,” he said.
He claimed that support price for cashew had never crossed Rs 100 per kg. “This is for the first time that we are offering rate of Rs 125 per kg considering the overall operational cost,” he said.
“For last four to five years, the support price of coconut and ‘alsano’ has remained constant,” he added.
