MADURAI: Farmers and export stakeholders in Madurai and neighbouring districts are upbeat over the state government's announcement to initiate a 'Mission for Madurai Malli (jasmine)'. Tabling the agriculture budget on Tuesday, minister MRK Panneer Selvam said Madurai's relation with jasmine flowers dates back to the Sangam Era.
Other than Madurai (1,570 hectares), jasmine is also cultivated in Virudhunagar, Dindigul, Theni and Tenkasi districts in a total area of about 4,300 hectares. Under the proposed mission, an integrated cluster will be created over the next five years for enhancing production and marketing techniques. The mission implementation will commence this fiscal year at an outlay of Rs 7 crore. Measures to undertake off-season production of the flower variety through technical aiding, timely pruning activities, and integrated nutrient and pest management will be part of the mission.
Welcoming the agriculture budget announcements, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Dr N Jegatheesan said Rs 7 crore allocation for the Mission for Madurai Malli is a big step in the right direction.
"However, it is still not clear what sort of activities will be taken up under the mission. Regarding export matters, more than three tonnes of the flower is being dispatched to the international market daily. Less than 10% of the whole consignment is sent as loose flowers, while the remaining goes as garlands. Further, the demand in all south Tamil Nadu districts is fulfilled by the Madurai-zone flower (jasmine) cultivators. Though the demand stays high throughout the year, the actual production volume leaves much to be desired," he mentioned.
Distribution of jasmine saplings free of cost, cold storage facilities for export-ready stock, and machinery for churning out garlands are some of the requirements the state mission can focus on, Jegatheesan added.
Noting that some jasmine consignments from Madurai get rejected in the United States market owing to 'pest prevalence', Mattuthavani Flower Market Vendors' Association president S Ramachandran said under the new mission, the government could task the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University with studying pest management in jasmine plants and how to minimize pesticide usage.
"The iconic Madurai malli loses its fragrance if the pesticide is excessively used. Thus, research on this issue is absolutely necessary. Further, the union government should take steps to streamline the export procedure. At present, the exporters have to first transport the consignments to Chennai, before sending them abroad as air cargo. Measures should be taken to ensure the export of the cargo from the Madurai airport itself," he said.
Around Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 is spent on each acre of jasmine cultivation, explained Marudhupandian, a traditional jasmine farmer from Usilampatti. "Purchase of saplings takes up a major chunk of the production cost. An average of 6,000 saplings can be planted on an acre. Though the horticulture department provides free saplings, we have to travel over 20 km away to receive them.
So, most farmers procure them from the private market. So, it would be of great help if the government took steps to disburse saplings in more locations. Also, unlike the cultivation of other crops, no kind of machinery is used in jasmine cultivation and all work has to be done manually. So, authorities could develop machines useful for us or assist us in arranging workforce," the farmer further said.