"Though a complete ban of panmasala by either the Centre or the states is ruled out for various reasons, in the long run it is becoming clear that the marginal farmers involved in the sector will be hit by any fluctuation in demand," said the director in-charge of the Directorate of Cocoa, Arecanut and Spices Development, M Tamilselvan.

Though arecanut is mainly used for chewing, it is used for medicinal formulations by ayurvedic physicians in a very limited way.

The problem of arecanut farmers is compounded by a lack of export avenues. Export is limited to Arab countries and the south-east Asia for use by Indians there. But this export volume is negligible.

As per the available statistics, the country exported 406 tonnes of arecanutvalued at Rs 3.6 crore during 1995-96. On the other hand, the total production during the same year was 2,99,000 tonnes.

Another aspect worrying the farmers is the decline in productivity. "We have not so far done any study on this aspect. But it was noticed that there has been a decline in productivity over the last few years. While the farmers following traditional cultivation methods get around 1200 kg per hectare, those following scientific methods get 2000-2200 kg," Tamilselvan said.

Karnataka is the major producer of arecanut in the country, followed by Kerala and Assam. In Meghalaya, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa, production is insignificant.

With around 78,000 hectares of land under arecanut, Karnataka produces 1,13,000 tonnes a year. Kerala, having 76,500 hectares, produces 91,200 tonnes and Assam with 72,000 hectares, produces 57,800 tonnes.

Among the major reasons for decline in production include diseases like foot draught, yellow leaf and bud draught.Besides, the crop is grown mainly under rainfed condition. Therefore, a fall in seasonal rains adversely affects production.

Though there was a decline in production, the government had no plans to increase the quantity of production, Tamilselvan said.

Instead, the declared policy was not to go for any expansion of cultivated area and have marginal increase in production. This has been the policy adopted since early 70s when the country attained self-sufficiency in arecanut production.

"Prior to that, we used to have some imports from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. For the same reason, the average growth rate in production achieved during the last plan periods was only 1 per cent. While the growth rate was 3 per cent during the Seventh Plan period, it was only 4 per cent during the Eighth Plan.

For the Ninth Plan, it is expected to be 5 per cent," he said.

On its part, the directorate is planning to come out with some measures to help the farmers. These include providing seedlings of high-yieldingvarieties at subsidised rate for replanting of the plants affected by diseases and financial assistance for having irrigation facilities. Farmers would also be given pesticides.

Hence, directorate's total outlay proposed to the Planning Commission has been increased from Rs 5 crore in the previous Plan period to Rs 10 crore during the Ninth Plan.

The directorate has also mooted intercropping methods to get better returns. "Since the demand for arecanut is likely come down in the next few years, we have to think of alternative uses for it. There are very few research institutions other than the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Vittal, in Karnataka. The presence of alcaloids in arecanut, qualifies it to be used in paint manufacturing and tannery," he said. The Central Arecanut and Marketing Co-operative, Mangalore in collaboration with Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) has already launched a programme of developing alternative uses for arecanut.