: Nutmeg farmers, hit by low prices, are likely to get a helping hand from the Farmer Producer Society, proposed to be formed with the help of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Prices of mace and nutmeg have ruled low for the whole of 2015. At Rs. 875 kg, mace price is not remunerative, said P. D. Zachariah of All Kerala Nutmeg Growers’ Association on Sunday.
He said that the price of mace had gone up to Rs. 2,000 a kg three years ago. Since then the price has steadily moved down.
Market demand
Despite a good crop this season, farmers have not been able to reap its benefit as market demand appears to have been drastically reduced, he said. The price of nutmeg has come down to Rs. 350 a kg from the level of Rs. 770 to 800 three years ago.
Spices Board figures said that the export value of nutmeg and mace was Rs. 38.72 crore during April-June this financial year against Rs. 24.77 crore during the corresponding period last year.
Karukutty grama pachayat, near Kochi, is considered the largest nutmeg-growing panchayat in the State with about 750 hectares under the crop, said Mr. Zachariah. There are around 30,000 farmers in the State. About 3,000 farmers are members of the Growers’ Association. Meanwhile, a meeting of nutmeg farmer representatives, agricultural scientists and officials from the Department of Agriculture, who met here on Saturday under an initiative by Innocent, MP, decided to form a farmer producer society to address the problems confronting the farmers.
Farmers may benefit from NABARD initiative
Karukutty is largest nutmeg-growing panchayat
