Cooperative Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) has entered into an agreement with Madhya Pradesh Cooperative Dairy Federation to sell their chocolates at Sanchi milk vends of the Federation.

Sanchi a well known Budhist tourist destination in MP would soon offer choice chocolates to its visitors

Sources say Campco a multi-state cooperative body of Karnataka and Kerala drawing its strength from tens of thousands of farmers is set to expand its business in new areas of the country.

Producing coco, beans, betel nut and rubber has been the core business of Campco, sources add. Campco, a successful cooperative venture was in news recently when it fought against ban on plastic pouches in Supreme Court. Campco President Padmanabh told Indian Cooperative of a long drawn fight on the issue.

Multi-state cooperative Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) Ltd is planning to branch out and procure additional horticultural crops to help farmers of the region. Campco, which has presence in Karnataka and Kerala at present, primarily procures arecanut, cocoa, and rubber. Campco has now set its eyes on procuring pepper and coconut, according to its president Konkodi Padmanabha.

Campco has released Pooga Singar, deodorant beauty soap, a research product of agriculturist Badanaje Shankar Bhat in Manglore on Wednesday, Padmanabha said, “We will have to amend our existing by-laws to facilitate this aim.” The by-laws in all likelihood would be amended at the annual general body meeting of the cooperative scheduled for September this year.

In another move aimed at reducing its dependency on grid power for its chocolate factory in Puttur, Padmanabha said Campco would set up another windmill of 2.1-MW capacity at Chikkodi in Belgaum district by end of the current fiscal.

Campco in 2009 had commissioned a windmill of 1.25-MW capacity at Halthimalapura in Hoovinahadagali taluk of Bellary district. The initial plan was to set up the second windmill before October this year.

The proposed windmill would generate around 40 lakh to 42 lakh units of power a year. The first windmill that started operation on March 31, 2009 generate 25 lakh units of power in 2009-10 and 21 lakh units in 2010-11. The chocolate factory requires 72 lakh units of power a year. Campco would supply the power generated to the state grid and obtain a pre-arranged quantum of power as per existing norms from the local grid at Puttur, he explained.

The cooperative has also set itself a target to produce 17,000 tonnes of chocolate products from its Puttur unit by the end of March 2012. Campco produced 13,000 tonnes of chocolate products in 2010-11 and sold semi-finished and finished chocolate products worth Rs 150 crore to the market.

A farmer-cum-researcher, who had earlier made wine and soft drinks from arecanut, has now come up with more value-added products such as toilet soap, mouthwash and skin ointment.
P. Shankar Bhat Badanaje’s discovery assumes significance in the backdrop of a looming threat of a down fall for the arecanut market, following an interim order of the Supreme Court banning the sale of gutka, pan masala and tobacco in plastic pouches from March, 2011. As arecanut is prominently used in gutka and pan masala, growers are worried over the consequences of this order on the market.

In a major setback to aracanut cooperatives spread in the southern states Supreme Court refused to lift the ban on sale of tobacco products like gutka and pan masala in plastic sachets, a bench of justices G S Singhvi and K S Radhakrishnan allowed all impediment applications of various stakeholders, saying the court will hear all their concerns.

The bench also directed Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam to file the government’s reply to issues raised by the stakeholders within four weeks.

The bench also directed the government to make available to concerned parties within two weeks the copies of the report dated February 17, 2011 on use of tobacco.

The court will start its hearing from July 20 and said there would be no adjournments in the case.

Earlier the government had notified the law banning plastic packaging of non-smoking tobacco products on February 4 after the bench had rebuked it on February 2 for not implementing the law and asked it to notify the same within two days.

Endorsing the Rajasthan High Court order, the bench had on December 7 last restrained gutka, pan masala and chewing tobacco manufacturers from using plastic as packaging material for their products from March 1 this year.

Earlier, aracanut cooperative leaders led by Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedurrapa had met Prime Minister and Law Minister to seek one year of moratorium on the government order of banning plastic sachets.

Several Members of Parliament from the states of Karnataka, Kerala and other states rallied around these cooperatives against government order.Leaders were pinning hope on April 13 hearing of the matter in Supreme Court.

Braving two and a half decades of upheavals in the market, Campco, a cooperative which markets arecanut and cocao products suddenly finds itself in fight or finish stage.

The Supreme Court and subsequently Centre’s decision to ban plastic sachet for gutkha packing has shaken the cooperatives by foundation. The arecanut cooperatives  produce raw material for sachets .

Talking to Indian Cooperative.com, the president of Campco cooperative Mr Konkodi Padmanabha said that we are mobilizing political opinion to save the arecanut growers who are mostly spread in the states of Karnataka,Kerala and Assam.

A meeting of about 30 Members of Parliament has taken place to put pressure on the government. Political leaders cutting acrfoss party lines have joined the movement for “save arecanut growers”,Padmanabha added.

The matter was also raised in Parliament during zero hour by 3-4 MPs. A combine of 15 cooperatives have also appealed in the court for review which is bound to come for hearing on 13^th April, a hopeful President said to Indiancooperative.com

We are going with a delegation to Delhi along with the Chief Minister Mr B S Yeddurappa to meet Prime Minister.We would meet other leaders such as Jairam Ramesh and Veerappa Moilly again to impress upon them the urgency of matter, said Mr Padmanabha.

It would be indeed sad if the government does not intervene to save the cooperatives as Campco is one of the few cooperatives in India which inspires hope that cooperative movement is yet not a fallen idea.

The campco industries is in deep trouble owing to Centre’s decision to stop plastic sachets of gutkhas. The arecanut cooperatives which produce raw material for sachets is sure to lose everything in the face of this decision.

Readers may be aware that Supreme Court had ruled that from March 1 plastic sachets would not be allowed. Following apex court decision, the Centre has issued notifications to this effect.

The Campco Ltd as a “Co-operative” is a success story which came into being in 70s.

The arecanut cooperatives of Karnataka , devasted by the decision went to meet the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr B S Yeddurappa. A patient CM offered them to help and take up the matter with the Centre so that the ban be extended for one year.

The CM told that he would discuss the issue with leaders of various political parties and farmer leaders in the state and lead a delegation to New Delhi before March 11 to discuss the issue with the ministers concerned. The delegation would also meet the PM.

The Chief Minister also offered to infuse Rs 100 crores as market intervention to save the cooperatives.

The campco Managing Director A Subrahmanya Bhat has also said that a delegation  plans to meet the PM  to help save the cooperatives from complete destruction.

This case is classic example of rift between development and environmental concerns. Without planning any alternative for the arecanut cooperatives , govt move to ban plastic sachets is at best described as cruel.