HYDERABAD: Telangana, which boosted production of turmeric to the tune of around 7 lakh tonnes in the past, has witnessed a decline in the production to just about 3 lakh tonnes in recent years. This decline can be attributed to lack of a good export market. A state-level turmeric cell, if established, can help in creating a market for turmeric as well as strengthen the quality of the produce, Nizamabad MP K Kavitha has said.
Speaking at a workshop here on Monday, the TRS MP said, “We also need to push for a GI tag for turmeric in Telangana, along with looking at ways to see if this can be combined with the pharmaceutical industry in the state.”
“Being part of the Spices Board is not enough as there are 54 spices listed under it, said Kavitha. The Telangana government created a Spices Park at Balakonda with an investment of `30 crore and the objective is to safeguard the seeds and improve turmeric variety.
“We need to set up a turmeric gene bank. The period when the farmers have to dry turmeric after production is the longest and the toughest. We need to see if we can get turmeric dryers similar to paddy dryers,” she said. With the demand for establishment of a national turmeric board having been turned down by the Centre, the MP has been gathering different stake-holders to press for constitution of a state-level committee as a first step towards setting up of a state-level turmeric cell. The workshop saw the participation of farmers, researchers, exporters and members of the Spice Board of India to look at ways in which indigenous turmeric produce can be strengthened, alongside ensuring a market for it.
Officials of the Spices Board India, which functions under the Union ministry of commerce and industry, said that Nizamabad in Telangana was one of the important producers of turmeric but the farmers there were facing a number of issues.
“The quality of the turmeric produced here has not attracted the exporters as the level of curcumin, a natural chemical in turmeric, is not as high in the turmeric produced in north-eastern states. The amount of curcumin in the turmeric produced in Telangana is around 4 per cent while that in the NE turmeric is around 8 per cent,” said AB Ramashree, director (R&D) of Spices Board, Kochi.
Farmers unaware of curcumin test
The farmers who attended the workshop said that they were not aware of the curcumin test which determines the quality of turmeric. Therefore, they never had their produce tested
There is no minimum support price for turmeric as it is a commercial crop