NIZAMABAD: In what may sound like music to the ears of Nizamabad turmeric farmers, the Central government on Tuesday announced the decision to establish a Regional Office & Extension Centre of the Spices Board in Nizamabad at the earliest.
An announcement to this effect was made by Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal at his office on Parliament premises in New Delhi in the presence of Nizamabad BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind. Though they have been urging the government to set up a turmeric board for long, the announcement brings some relief to the farmers as the regional office may help in resolving the issues related to turmeric farming.
Speaking on the occasion, Goyal said that the decision to set up the Spices Board’s regional centre was taken following a request from MP Arvind while adding that a notification will be issued in this regard on Wednesday.
The farmers have been demanding a turmeric board. But the board will have some limitations and it will not be possible to provide comprehensive services to the farmers. So it was decided to establish the Spices Board’s regional centre which will function directly under the supervision of the ministry, he said.
The regional office, to be headed by an IAS officer as Director and who will report directly to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, will address the issues related to turmeric, chilli crops and other spices and it will work in coordination with Department of Agricultural, Horticultural, and Ministry of Consumer affairs.
Minister Goyal said that the regional office will provide necessary assistance to the farmers and help them in quality-oriented crop cultivation, achieve good yields and increase production.
Establishing the Spices Board Regional Office is to help farmers boost exports and attract foreign investors, Union minister Piyush Goyal said.
The office will implement all schemes related to these farmers, including Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) to create appropriate infrastructure for development and growth of exports, he explained.
While expressing confidence that the new office will fulfil the farmers’ aspirations, the Minister said the office will be more useful to farmers of Adilabad, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar. Earlier, RP Kanchan, Assistant Director of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in a circular to the Spices Board, said: “Strengthen activities of Spices Board in Telangana, for spices, especially for turmeric. The Divisional Office in Nizamabad wil be upgraded as a regional export promotion centre in coordination with State government.’’
The Spices Board has also given instructions to organise buyer-seller-meet, for spices including turmeric, to establish direct linkage between farmer groups and exporters for better price realisation by the farmers on priority basis, he said.
Besides MP Arvind, Adilabad MP Soyam Babu Rao, BJP State committee member Baswa Lakshmi Narsaiah, BJP District President P Gangareddy were also present when Minister Goyal made the announcement.
Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav congratulated the people of Nizamabad and north Telangana and said: “I would like to congratulate MP D Arvind as his drive and determination has finally led to Modi government taking a decision to establish the Spices Board regional office in Nizamabad. It will have all the powers of the Spices Board and TIES.”
Arvind says ex-MP failed to resolve issue
Nizamabad: Welcoming the establishment of a Regional cum Extension Centre of Spices Board in district, BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri said the centre will provide long-term benefits to turmeric farmers. Speaking to the media in Delhi on Tuesday, he said the issue of had existed since the past 30 years and the former MP K Kavitha, had failed to solve it