Centre says no proposal to set up Turmeric Board in Nizamabad
During the 2019 general election, BJP candidate Dharmapuri Arvind gave a written promise that he would convince the Centre to set up the Turmeric Board in Nizamabad
By Newsmeter Network Published on 16 March 2021 11:45 AM IST
Hyderabad: In a major blow to Nizamabad farmers, Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said there is no proposal to set up a Turmeric Board in Telangana.
Nizamabad district is one of the major turmeric producers in the country.
It may be also recalled that during the 2019 general election, BJP candidate Dharmapuri Arvind gave a written promise that he would convince the Centre to set up the Turmeric Board in Nizamabad if he was elected as MP.
Earlier before Dharmapuri Arvind, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter and former MP from Nizamabad K Kavitha tried hard to convince the Centre to set up a Turmeric Board in the state.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, farmers from Nizamabad registered their protest by filing nominations en masse in Varanasi from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seeking re-election. They finally reposed faith in Arvind, who promised to set up the board in Nizamabad within five days of the formation of the BJP government at the Centre. However, the promise still remains unfulfilled.
Replying to a question of TRS MP KR Suresh Reddy in the Rajya Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister also said that the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry had already established a Regional Office-cum-Extension Centre of Spices Board at Nizamabad for export promotion of spices including turmeric.
The Board is having offices at Warangal, Hyderabad, Nizamabad and Khammam in Telangana for export promotion of spices including turmeric
Telangana produces the highest of 386.596 tonnes of turmeric in the country which accounts for one-fourth of total production in the country. In the state, 55.444 hectares of land are under turmeric cultivation.
Turmeric farmers, who are facing severe stress, have been demanding a board on the lines of the tobacco board. Farmers say a dedicated board would help in extension and marketing activities.
Farmers have no access to scientific input or extension support. They depend on the local seeds and varieties. As most of the farmers are small and marginal with very small landholdings, they cannot afford any scientific management of their fields and crops.
