Turmeric market: Brokers ruling roost

• Govt’s e-marketing system is of no help to farmers
• Farmers plead for early establishment of Turmeric Board

Nizamabad: Businessmen and middlemen have formed a syndicate at the agriculture market yard here depriving support price for turmeric farmers through online system which was introduced recently.

Minister for Irrigation and Marketing T Harish Rao had launched e-marketing system at the market yard two months ago to eliminate the role of middlemen and improve transparency in sales so that farmers get support price for turmeric.

Initially, farmers were benefited with the newly introduced system. However, businessmen and middlemen have colluded in e-auction process which is part of e-marketing system and reduced the support price for turmeric drastically.

Price of turmeric per quintal fell from Rs 9,500 to Rs 8,180 in the past 15 days. Middlemen have reduced the price of turmeric in off-season when farmers have to get better price during on-season.

In Telangana state, turmeric crop is raised in 54,587 hectares and in Nizamabad district alone, farmers are cultivating turmeric in 27,500 hectares. Nizamabad market yard is famous for turmeric sales after Sangli market in Maharashtra.

There are allegations that middlemen have opened online accounts and lowering turmeric price systematically in the e-auction by reducing Rs 100 each day in the past 15 days.

With the reduction in support price over the years, cultivation of turmeric also came down from 50,000 acres to 30,000 acres in the district.

Even the production of turmeric per acre had reduced from 20 quintals to 10 quintals. Farmers are still depending on middlemen to sell their produce despite the state government introducing e-marketing system.

Turmeric farmers are in debts for the past 10 years as they were unable to repay them in the absence of support price.

They urge the state government to soon set up the Turmeric Board to ensure justice to them.