Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar Reddy has demanded immediate intervention by Central government to help the turmeric farmers who are in distress.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, he said the condition of turmeric farmers was distressing and reminded that Union Minister Rajnath Singh had given a specific assurance during elections that a Turmeric Board would be set up in Telangana .
“Today, lakhs of tonnes of turmeric is lying in markets with no buyers. We want the Central government to intervene and set an MSP of ₹ 10,000 per quintal and immediately purchase the produce,” Mr Reddy demanded.
He said the Central government, in its Agriculture Export Policy announced in 2018, had declared turmeric as focussed export. But now, no one is buying the produce forcing the farmers to commit suicide.
The TPCC chief informed that India ranks first, contributing 80% of the world turmeric produce and Telangana stands first in cultivation area and production as well. Turmeric is cultivated in an area of 1.33 lakh acres with a production of 2.81 lakh MTs, involving 1,07,506 farmers.
The estimated value of turmeric production in 2018-19 amounted to ₹ 1,687.25 crore and the cost of cultivation per acre is ₹ 1,19,000.
As per Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) survey, the per capita consumption of turmeric is 1.58 gm per day. Therefore, the total required for the Telangana (3.5 crore population) per day is about 55.47 MTs and about 20,245 MTs per year. It leaves Telangana with a surplus of 2.61 Lakh MTs valued at about ₹ 1,569.34 crore which is being exported to other States and countries.
In this scenario, Mr Reddy said turmeric farmers could not sustain unless the Centre sets an MSP of ₹ 10,000 per tonne, take measures to boost exports and this could be achieved only through formation of a Turmeric Board.
