Turmeric farmers are coming together in an attempt to set up an organisation that will regulate prices and implement a market intervention mechanism, if needed.
Farmers' organisations in the major turmeric growing areas have decided to support this move, which if successful, may be extended to cover more crops, say farmers' representatives who met last week in Chennai.
According to Mr P.K. Deivasigamani, the organiser of the Turmeric Farmers Council of India, the council will modelled along the lines of the NECC (National Egg Coordination Committee) which fixes the weekly price of eggs. The council has approached representatives in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, which along with Tamil Nadu account for most of the turmeric cultivated in the country. The TFCI will formally be floated shortly with a national seminar planned in Erode in July.
He said the volatility in turmeric prices have hit farmers badly. Prices have dropped by about 40-45 per cent since last year to less than Rs 8,000 a quintal which is barely the cultivation cost or even less for the farmers.
The turmeric council plans to fix a floor price for the produce and, if required, will intervene in the market to procure turmeric at viable prices.
Turmeric has been chosen to make a start because it is ideally suited – the area and number of farmers in turmeric cultivation is relatively small when compared with most other crops, it is a domestic produce with no possibility of imports and the cultivation season is limited to a few months but the shelf life of the processed turmeric is more than a decade.
The Consortium of Indian Farmers Association has decided to support this initiative, with the head of the association to coordinate the council's activity in Andhra Pradesh, according to Mr Deivasigamani.