Hopes dashed? Centre not keen on turmeric board in Nizamabad

HYDERABAD: The hopes of Nizamabad turmeric farmers to have the national turmeric board headquarters in their district and get MSP for the crop are unlikely to materialise soon. According to highly-placed sources, the Centre is planning to tell the farmers to increase the percentage of curcumin, a key active ingredient in turmeric, and impart training to growers in cluster farming.
Officials said turmeric grown in Nizamabad does not have high doses of curcumin. Turmeric with higher percentage of the compound fetches Rs 15,000 per tonne in the open market. While farmers are demanding an MSP of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per tonne, they are getting just Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 a tonne.

Sources said thinking at the highest level is that despite having boards for spices like coffee, they could not help farmers gain much. “That is why the Centre is not convinced about Nizamabad having a separate turmeric board,” an official said.
When contacted, Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind told TOI that not everything is lost on getting the turmeric board to Nizamabad. “We have begun the consultations which had never taken place before. I will work towards getting the board as well as solving the problems of growers,” he added.
The common Nizamabad district is already included in the cluster farming module, officials said. Recently, National Horticulture Board officials along with state authorities visited the district and interacted with turmeric farmers. “A report with recommendations on what can be done for farmers will be submitted to the Centre by August-end,” the officials said.
Horticulture commissioner of India BN Srinivasa Murthy told TOI that emphasis of their visit was to ensure farmers get better price and better marketing links. “We want the farmers to get better incomes. The effort is towards achieving this larger goal,” he said.
“Turmeric farmers have been neglected over the years and time has come to alleviate their problems,” a grower said. Sources said farmers would be given training on better yielding varieties in the clusters (50-200 acres in each cluster). “They will also be provided with investment costs and market linkages,” sources said.