Visakhapatnam: In an effort to increase procurement and ease the process of payment to farmers cultivating turmeric in the Agency area the ITDA has decided to float a revolving fund of Rs 50 lakh, according to sources in the ITDA. This fund will be used to make initial payments to Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs).ITDA PO, DK Balaji said, “Earlier there was a problem regarding procurement as we had to sell the produce first to purchasing agencies (mainly GCC) before making the payment to the farmers. The farmers had to wait to get their money. Now we have floated this revolving fund which would be used to make initial payments to the Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs), who would in turn sell the produce to traders and agencies such as GCC and distribute the full payment among farmers.”Balaji added that the aim is to eliminate the middlemen , who have a strong sway over the market by making the FPOs sell the produce directly to certain agencies and exporters.On the other hand, GCC officials have decided to procure another 50 tonnes of turmeric from Agency farmers this year on, taking the total purchase to 180 tonnes. GCC MD, T Babu Rao Naidu said, “Turmeric and ginger procurement by the GCC as of today is not even the tip of the iceberg, and even the extra 50 tonne we are going to procure now is only a small amount.”ITDA sources said that most farmers sell their produce to middlemen, though the procurement rate is lower than the rate being offered by the ITDA. This is because they do not have to wait for payment while selling to private traders.ITDA PO said that the GCC pays Rs 90 per kilo, while private traders pay a lesser amount. “We have decided to train FPO members to market the produce themselves, eliminating the middlemen and have roped in the services of Tata Trust to train them. We are roping in major private players to buy the Agency produce directly and we are promoting it as organic turmeric," he added.The Visakhapatnam Agency is one of the single largest divisions in the state where turmeric is grown on a large scale. Turmeric cultivation is spread over 9,297 acres in the 11 Agency mandals in the district. In Chintapalli alone the turmeric acreage is over 1,800 acres.Though turmeric along with ginger is grown on a big scale in the Agency, the actual procurement by the GCC as against the actual yield is between 120-130 tonnes, while the yield is over 7,200 tonnes on an average. More importantly, there are hardly any major private players involved in direct procurement.Pointers for graphics-CULTIVATORS GET HELPTurmeric is grown in over 9,297 acres in 11 agency mandals of Visakhapatnam districtAverage yield is over 7,200 tonnesYield procured by GCC through ITDA- FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) is around 120-130 tonnes, GCC will procure another 50 tonnes this yearITDA to promote FPOs by enabling them with a Rs 50 lakh, revolving procurement fund, to make initial payments to farmers, thereby removing middlemen and local private traders.ITDA is also providing training to FPO members with the help of TATA Trust.The ITDA is approaching major private players to procure turmeric from the agency

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