Distressed coffee growers seek loan waiver

Even though farmers' lives are in distress due to unfavourable weather, Coffee Board officials, sitting in their office chambers, have been giving suggestions to farmers, stated Taluk Coffee Growers' Association.

Instead, they must visit the farmers' land to study the situation and should provide them with relief, they added.

Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Association president Mohan Bopanna said that the growers in the district have been suffering losses from the past many years. On applying for compensation, the officials are visiting only select plantations. This way, many farmers are deprived of compensation.

He further said, "Only 40% coffee has been harvested in the current year and the rest of the coffee has been damaged following rain. Ripe coffee berries are withering from the plants. There is no use of advice by officials. Many growers are not self-sufficient to built polyhouses to dry coffee berries."

He feared that Arabica coffee may go extinct in the district following the infestation of white stem borer disease.

The government should provide a special package to coffee growers, he said.

"The MPs of the region should take the initiative to solve the problems of the coffee growers," he added.

Mohan Bopanna said that a memorandum will be submitted to the deputy commissioner, urging for a detailed report on crop losses to be collected at the Gram Panchayat levels and submit the same to the government.

Association vice president M B Lava said that a memorandum was submitted by the growers to the government, to compensate the crop losses in 2018.

The waiver of loans upto Rs 1 lakh availed by farmers, during last year, has not reached beneficiaries, he said and urged to completely waive the loans availed by farmers.

Association office-bearers Somashekhar, Poovamma Gurappa and Yashwanth were present in the press meet.