Establishment not required for a single spice: Centre rules out separate Turmeric Board

Rupala said the government has taken several initiatives for the welfare of turmeric farmers

The Centre on Tuesday ruled out setting up a separate Turmeric Board saying such an establishment was not required for a single spice, rejecting a key demand of turmeric growing states such as Telangana.

“A board already exists for 50 spices. The government feels that a separate board for a single spice is not required at the moment,” Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

He said the government has taken several initiatives for the welfare of turmeric farmers, such as increasing the curcumin content in turmeric by promoting new varieties of the spice.

Rupala said the Divisional Office of the Spices Board in Nizamabad has been upgraded to a Regional Office cum Extension Centre, which has started functioning in February last year.

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Congress leader N Uttam Kumar Reddy claimed that BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Prakash Javadekar and Ram Madhav had promised setting up of a Turmeric Board while campaigning for elections in Telangana.

Rupala dismissed Reddy’s arguments as insistence on a certain nomenclature for political purposes at a time when the Spices Board was already carrying out several initiatives to promote research and development, post-harvest operations, marketing and export in the region.

BJP member B N Bache Gowda said if the government planned to set up a Turmeric Board, it should be for the entire country and not just Telangana.

Turmeric farmers had filed nominations to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi to highlight their demand for a separate turmeric board and minimum support price for the spice.