The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) celebrated its Foundation Day, commemorating its establishment on July 11, 1973, and reaffirming its commitment to empowering arecanut, cocoa and other plantation farmers through the cooperative model.
Founded at a time when arecanut growers faced severe market fluctuations and exploitation by middlemen, CAMPCO emerged as a farmer-led institution to ensure fair prices, market stability and economic security.
Over the past five decades, it has evolved into one of India’s leading agricultural cooperatives, expanding its activities beyond arecanut to cocoa, rubber, black pepper and coconut while creating a strong value chain for plantation crops.
The cooperative’s chocolate manufacturing venture, launched in Puttur in 1986, marked a major milestone in value addition. Today, CAMPCO’s chocolates enjoy a strong market presence across the country, while its diversified portfolio also includes bio-fertilisers, coconut-based products and other farm inputs.
With an extensive procurement network across Karnataka and Kerala, CAMPCO today serves nearly one lakh farmer-members and has established itself as a model cooperative supporting rural livelihoods, employment generation and sustainable agricultural development.
On the occasion, CAMPCO also launched a mobile application for its members, enabling farmers to access information related to procurement, transactions and cooperative services digitally, thereby improving transparency and ease of access.
The Foundation Day celebrations hold added significance as they coincide with the birth centenary year of CAMPCO founder Varanashi Subrahmanya Bhat, whose vision laid the foundation for a strong farmer-owned institution.
Speakers paid tributes to his pioneering contribution in building a cooperative that transformed the lives of plantation growers and strengthened the regional economy.
Highlighting its continued commitment to innovation, value addition and member welfare, CAMPCO reaffirmed its resolve to further strengthen the cooperative movement while enhancing farmers’ incomes and promoting self-reliance through sustainable agricultural and processing activities.
