The Government will work with the industry to see if policies and schemes need to be modified to support adoption of new systems and technologies, said Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Joint Secretary (plantations), Department of Commerce.
Mr. Sarangi said at the valediction of the annual conference of United Planters’ Association of Southern India in here on Saturday that there are various measures to mitigate natural calamities such as lack of rainfall or flooding. There are systems coming in such as precision irrigation. These are not factored in the schemes of the commodity boards.
“We will work with the industry to see if policies and schemes need to be tweaked to accommodate these,” he said.
Mr. Sarangi added that the government has received representations from the industry seeking support following the recent heavy rainfall in south India. There are standard procedures involved to support from the National Disaster Response Fund or State Disaster Reponse Fund. The Coffee Board has worked with Karnataka government in this regard after the rainfall. The Central Government takes necessary steps based on the recommedinations of the State Government.
Later, at the annual meeting of the association, Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said in a recorded message that there are several problems that the plantation sector faces. The Government will work with the industry and address the challenges.