Farmers are reducing their area under cumin while increasing the area under rye - mustard, fenugreek etc. Now at the current price of cumin, farmers have seen a profit for the first time in many years.
"Cultivation of cumin seeds is like a gamble for us. The cost of raw materials has increased manifold while the prices lag behind. We are relieved," said a farmer.
"It is not understood why everyone is raising a fuss against the price of cumin when the farmers are benefiting, when the farmers are suffering due to the low price of cumin, no one is saying anything," said Karsanbhai Jadeja, a farmer and CEO at Banas Pharmaceutical Producer Company (FPC), a 1,600-member company in Gujarat's Radhanpur district.
Jadeja is one of the hundreds of farmers who have expressed his happiness amid negative talks about the cumin. Explaining the costing of the crop, Babulalbhai Thakor of Chorad Farmers Producer Company said that "generally the average production of cumin is two quintals per acre while the cost per acre is Rs. 30,000. Moreover, there are transport costs, bagging and labor costs. This year we got more profit. What I have earned from cumin crop this year. My daughter's wedding expenses will easily come out of it. Chorad FPC is in Banaskantha district"
These farmers gathered in a function organized by NCDEX IPF Trust. The function was graced by the Director (Marketing) of Spice Board - Kochi. B. N. Jha addressed. Kanubhai of Wadeyar FPC mentioned the benefits to the member farmers this year due to higher cumin prices. Government is only concerned about the interests of consumers. However let me tell you how much cumin seeds a housewife consumes in a month
"A housewife do not consume more than 200 grams of cumin seeds a month. Hence, if the price per kg is Rs. 200 increased from Rs. 1,000 even if the user gets Rs.1200. An additional burden of 150 is to be borne. However, the propaganda media and the government make a fuss about the high price of cumin," said Wadeyar who lives in Patan district and has a membership of around 500 farmers.
Director (Marketing) Spice Board Kochi B. N. Jha studied cumin prices and cultivation in detail. He asked farmers to focus on quality. Also, if farmers directly export their produce with the help of Spice Board, the income of farmers can increase.
