No market leaves turmeric farmers frustrated
CHHACHHRAULI (YAMUNANAGAR): Despite availability of subsidised seeds and better moisture content for its growth, number of farmers opting for turmeric farming has gone down in Yamunanagar. Reason –absence of a sale mechanism.
As per the horticulture department, turmeric farming is done on foothills of the Shivalik range passing through Chhachhrauli, Sadhaura and Bilaspur blocks. Nearly 30% farmers here are engaged in turmeric farming, but none on a large scale.
District horticulture consultant Dr Davinder Singh said the crop requires less water and as the region is an industrial hub of plywood and related products, turmeric is grown along with poplar trees as intercropping provides good binding support.
“Sowing starts in MarchApril and cultivation after 12 months. Here, farming is done on roughly 300 acre and crop yield is nearly 35 quintal each acre,” Singh said. Area under turmeric crop was 500 acre in 2014-15.
Most farmers HT spoke to highlighted the poor seed quality and closure of state’s only turmeric processing plant in 2016 which was set up in Raduar in 2009.
Narwail Singh Lobyo, of Ledi village, said, “My family did this farming for five years on four acre along with poplar and Eucalyptus trees, but had to abandon it. Post-cultivation, turmeric has to be peeled, boiled and roasted but even then it went unsold.”
Another farmer from Jairampur Khalsa village, Narinder, said he had grown the crop on six acre in 2013 and had to give it to his friends after not getting a suitable price.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) district president Sanju Gudiana said before the plant’s closure, there used to be bumper crop of turmeric in district. “Now, there is no centre to sell the crop and turmeric farming is reduced for personal use,” he said.
In February this year, state tourism minister and Jagadhri MLA Kanwar Pal, who was on an official tour of Kerala, announced that spice farming will be promoted in the Shivalik region.
An official, pleading anonymity, said quality parameters of the seed started failing due to water content.
Later, farmers were asked to bring the crop after boiling and roasting it and due to the labour cost involved, its farming diminished.
Pawan Kamboj, manager of the plant, said since the plant was customised in manual mode, higher authorities asked us to modernise it and start automatic processing.
“The state government has approved automation and the plant is expected to restart after tender is floated,” he said.