BANGALORE: The Karnataka Grape Growers Association (KGGA) called upon the state government on Wednesday to grant a subsidy of at least Rs 4 per kg and encourage the farmers who grow ‘Bangalore Blues’ variety of grapes.Addressing a press conference, president of the Karnataka Grape Growers Association, N Narayanaswamy said, “Only 20 per cent of the total quantity of Bangalore Blues is exported for consumption to neighbouring states. Wine industries have consistently decreased the purchase of our grapes as they are buying the French grapes. This has taken a toll on all of us”.Bangalore Blues grapes has an history of 150 years and is being grown in many areas of Karnataka over 4,500 acres at Bangalore Urban, Banglore Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and more. More than 4.5 lakh tonnes of grapes is produced annually out of which just 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes are purchased by the industries to extract wine.“It is grown throughout the year mainly by small and medium farmers. But, instead of giving importance to this horticultural crop the government is encouraging the growth of French variety of grapes along with a subsidy, which is only suitable for the production of wine”. The state government’s wine policies favour French variety of grapes along with the formation of a Wine Board and meted out a step-motherly treatment to those who grow Bangalore Blues variety of grapes, the farmers alleged.The KGGA requested the government to provide a subsidy of Rs 4 through NABARD to Bangalore Blues on the lines of Maharashtra which has granted a subsidy of Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg through the same agency. Grape growers also said that it is very hard to switch over to other crops as the investments for plantation of grapes on one acre of land costs more than Rs 3 lakh. “We will incur huge losses if we switch over to other crops. We are also being exploited to the core by the middlemen,” they charged.
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