ITDA to help cashew farmers’ secure profitable price

Rampa Chodavaram (East Godavari): ITDA, Rampa Chodavaram, is taking the initiative to provide profitable price by giving organic certificates to farmers cultivating cashew, which is the major income source for the tribals in the Agency area in East Godavari district.

Efforts are on to form societies at village-level to procure cashew in order to provide profitable price for farmers. The ITDA is making efforts to set up organic agriculture producers’ societies at village-level and develop them like DWCRA groups at mandal-level. Payments will be made following bio-metric system and a technological partner would also be set up. Loans will be sanctioned from the GCC and the ITDA will also extend support for the societies.

Farmers can store their organic produce in godowns in villages and purchasing centres will be set up in villages and shandies apart from existing sales points. Tribal farmers can make use of organic certificates to avoid problems in transporting products from procurement centres to clusters. Olam company will give organic certificates and Olam will pay premium of Rs 2 per each kilogram of organic product for the farmers who possess the certificate.

Explaining about the scheme, Project Officer, ITDA, Rampa Chodavaram, K V N Chakradhar Rao said that cashew is being cultivated by the tribals in ITDA under Rampa Chodavaram limits, in about 40 lakh acres and they are not getting profitable price due to lack of proper marketing system.

He informed that initially four to five mandals will be identified in the Agency area where the cashew cultivation is very high and the farmers would be encouraged to go for organic farming. A region will be selected where at least 10,000 tonnes of cashew is currently being cultivated.

He said that the remaining area of the Agency will be covered under this programme in a phased manner. He mentioned that native tribals were selling their produce to middlemen who finance them and they were being deprived of actual price of the market.

The official said that farmers would be given training on methods of grafting through which cashew plantation can be done. He hoped that in future, farmers would raise their own plantation and sell it in an open market through ITDA and get revenue. He called upon farmers to adopt new technologies to increase production.

He said that the Horticulture department and ITDA had linked NREGS with cashew cultivation which was the major crop in tribal areas in order to provide employment to tribals though they were working in their own fields and added that an action plan had been prepared to supply quality grafted plants locally according to the requirements of the farmers to get high yields.

The official maintained that the ITDA is making efforts to give them organic certificates which would enable them to get higher price for their products. He further said that the ITDA would be instrumental in providing them better marketing facilities. He made it clear that the main objective of this programme is to eliminate middlemen and provide profitable price for the tribal farmers.

Samson Raj