‘Minimum support pricefor cashew only on paper’

Staff Reporter

Panaji

Ahead of the Cashew Fest Goa-2023, the Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar (GAKUVED) Federation has called for an immediate implementation of the minimum support price for cashew farmers in the state.

Speaking to this daily on Wednesday, GAKUVED’s general secretary Ramesh Velip said the minimum support price declared for cashew crop in the state is only an announcement, as it is not being disbursed to the farmers.

“This year, the government has proposed to raise the support price to `150 per kg. However, the declaration is an empty promise, as even the previous season’s minimum support price of `125 per kg has not yet been received by the farmers,” Velip claimed.

He pointed out that the cashew price in the wholesale market of the state during the ongoing season has crashed from `123 per kg in March to the present `110 per kg.

“Cashew farmers have been badly affected by the crash in prices. There are fears that the price may fall further as the market intermediaries namely the co-operatives are being selective in purchasing the crop by refusing to buy nuts that are small in size claiming that the demand is low,” said Velip.

“Many of the farmers of the tribal federation are selling the produce to private traders, who are paying a low price,” he added.

According to GAKUVED, cashew yield in the state, over the years, has been adversely affected by climatic conditions but no research support has been forthcoming from the government on cashew trees that can withstand the climatic vagaries.

Cashew production in the state is stagnant between 25,000 and 27,000 tonnes, while the area under cultivation is about 56,000 hectares. Cultivation is undertaken across the state; however, Sattari, Pernem and Bicholim are the top three cashew-growing talukas. Goa’s cashew yield per hectare is low at 480 kg.

GAKUVED has raised the issue of the trend of annual imports of about 10,000-12,000 tonnes of raw cashew from Tanzania and East Africa, which is of poor quality and affecting the price realisation of Goan cashew.

Processing units in the state are increasingly using the imported nuts because they are cheaper. Further, the imported nuts are also spoiling the Goan brand name, as they are being sold as local produce, according to GAKUVED.

The two-day Goa Cashew Fest, starting on April 15, aims to make Goa ‘swayampurna’ or self-sufficient in cashew production and increase the global branding of Goan cashew nut.