Turmeric back in spotlight as key issue in Telangana ahead of elections

Turmeric, the yellow rhizome crop which was responsible for the defeat of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha from Nizamabad in 2019 general elections, is back in the spotlight as a major political issue for the assembly elections in the state, scheduled to be held on November 30.

Days before the announcement of the state’s election schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a public rally in Mahabubnagar on October 1, announced that the Centre would set up a national turmeric board at Nizamabad, a long pending demand of the farmers in the state.

Three days later, the Union cabinet approved the formation of the national turmeric board, which would focus on the entire supply chain of turmeric from value addition to infrastructure to exports, in the wake of increased demand of the crop across the world in the post-Covid-19 environment.

According to K Sai Reddy, national general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and a board member of National Council of Agricultural Research (NCAR), Telangana is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the country.

Quoting 2021-22 figures from the Union ministry of commerce, Reddy said around 45,000 farmers in Armoor area of Nizamabad, Jagtial and Nirmal districts cultivate turmeric crop in around 40,000 acres of land. “Maharashtra is in the second position with around 28,000 acres of turmeric crop, followed by Tamil Nadu,” he said.

In fact, it was more than 55,000 acres earlier, but the area of cultivation has come down drastically in the last two years due to lack of remunerative price. Each acre of turmeric crop yields on average 20 quintals.

“The farmers are not getting even ₹6,000 per quintal of turmeric, which is not sufficient to meet even the production cost, which is around ₹8,000 per quintal. So, many farmers have left cultivation of turmeric,” Reddy said.

Turmeric farmers have been fighting for setting up of a national turmeric board for a long time and during 2014 general elections, Kavitha, who contested for the Lok Sabha elections from Nizamabad on BRS ticket (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS), promised that she would fight for the board and achieve it.

When she failed to fulfil her promise, the turmeric farmers turned against her. “More than 180 turmeric farmers filed their nominations in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Nizamabad. Similarly, as many as 54 farmers went all the way to Varanasi to file nominations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” recalled the representative of turmeric farmers’ association, Kotapati Narasimha Naidu.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Nizamabad, Dharmapuri Arvind, promised during the electioneering that he would secure the much-awaited turmeric board for the farmers within a month of getting elected as MP. He also signed a bond on a stamp paper to that effect and got it registered, saying he would resign from his MP seat if he failed to fulfill his promise.

This resulted in the stunning defeat of Kavitha with a margin of nearly 70,000 votes in Nizamabad. But Arvind, too, failed to keep up his promise, as the Centre refused to create a separate board for turmeric as there is already a board for spices, which includes turmeric.

However, Arvind got a promise from the Centre that a regional office of the spices board would be set up at Nizamabad, but this did not convince the farmers. The BRS, led by Kavitha, has been extensively campaigning against Arvind, demanding his resignation for failing to fulfil the promise.

Whenever Arvind visited his constituency, he had to face the fury of the turmeric farmers. On January 25, 2022, an angry mob of turmeric farmers attacked his convoy with stones and sticks and he had to hurry back to Hyderabad.

Its time for elections again

Now with the Telangana assembly elections just few away, the Prime Minister Modi’s announcement of setting up of the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad has gained political colour.

“All these days, it has been the turmeric traders who have been minting money by exploiting the poor farmers. While the farmers have not been getting even ₹5,000 to ₹6,000 per quintal, the traders have been making money at least three times. One can see many turmeric traders turning rich and even making entry into politics,” said Sai Reddy.

He said the setting up of a national turmeric board would result in farmers getting adequate remunerative price. It would help farmers adopt modern production and processing techniques, set up storage facilities, get access to direct trading and export.

“In fact, such facilities were available even when turmeric was part of the spices board, but now, it will be exclusive to turmeric. The Centre can help farmers with agricultural intervention through the board,” he said.

Narasimha Naidu said under the National Turmeric Board, the turmeric growers would get protection from exploitation of traders. “The genuine turmeric growers would get identity cards and there would be no monopoly or cartel formation by traders to reduce the price. The board itself will take up auction of the produce, so that the farmers get a higher price,” Naidu said.

Another turmeric grower Muthyala Manohar Reddy, who had, in 2014, vowed to remain barefooted till the turmeric board was formed, is sceptical about how the board would help the farmers.

“It appears, the Prime Minister has announced the formation of a turmeric board hurriedly keeping in view the upcoming assembly elections. There is no one to explain how it will help the farmers. I think it will take at least a year till the board is constituted and it becomes fully operational,” Muthyala Reddy said.

He said there is an apprehension that the board would procure only export quality turmeric that has high curcumin content, having high demand abroad. “It may not help small and marginal farmers much,” he said.

With the assembly elections round the corner, the BJP and the BRS have begun claiming credit for the setting up of the turmeric board. Soon after the announcement on the turmeric board by the Prime Minister, Arvind took to X (Twitter) and described it as a landmark decision.

“Prime Minister Modi’s announcement of the National Turmeric Board is a testament to BJP’s commitment to uplift the lives of farmers in Telangana, especially in Nizamabad. This move will revolutionise turmeric farming, ensuring fair prices and global recognition,” he tweeted.

He said turmeric isn’t just a crop, it’s an integral part of our culture, used for health, culinary, and religious purposes. “Its demand surged during the pandemic for its immune-boosting properties. The Turmeric Board addresses this, supporting both farmers and consumers,” the Nizamabad MP said.

BRS working president and state industries minister K T Rama Rao (KTR) wondered whether the announcement on setting up of the turmeric board would also be similar to the women’s reservation bill, which had no time limit.

“Modi could have done it [announcement of turmeric board] nine years ago, but he has done it now. Maybe, he will put a small yellow board now and call it a turmeric board,” KTR told reporters soon after the Prime Minister’s announcement.

Senior journalist of a vernacular daily from Nizamabad Bhadra Reddy said it is too early to judge which party would get benefit out of the formation of turmeric board. “The turmeric farmers are still in a state of confusion about the composition and functions of the board. Maybe, there will be some clarity by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.