Production and Productivity of Turmeric in Andhra Pradesh (composite) Andhra Pradesh is a
major turmeric producing state, which contributed a major chunk of the total production and 28 percent of the total area in India. In terms of yield it occupies third position with 5,183 kg per hectare after Mizoram and Gujarat (Annon, 1999). The growth in area of turmeric was estimated to be 5.04 percent per annum over the study period, which was the highest among the selected states. The significant growth in area was mainly
because of the mass production, which facilitates easy marketing of the turmeric and helps in getting remunerative prices. Moreover, it was a profitable crop that yielded a net profit of Rs.
22,000 per acre (Nagarajan, 2000) as a result the area under turmeric grew in Andhra Pradesh.
The factors, which attributed for the growth of turmeric yield were the new varieties and the location specific technologies. Similarly, a high growth rate was observed in the case of total turmeric production. The positive growth in area and yield contributed to the growth in production. This significant
growth indicated that, the state of Andhra Pradesh had been endowed with suitable climate and location specific technologies and quality seed rhizome for the turmeric production. The facilities and services provided by the Spices Board were also responsible for the higher growth in turmeric production. The Spices Board had been providing various help (Vikas Singhal, 1999) such as providing drying sheets to small and marginal growers of turmeric and other spices for drying under hygenic conditions, providing subsidies for the small and marginal farmers for the construction of concrete drying yards and for the construction of warehouse. These were some of the helps rendered by the Spices Board for the small
and marginal turmeric growers, who form a major chunk of turmeric growers. Mass production of turmeric lead to a well organised marketing structure in Andhra Pradesh, where the exploitation by middlemen was almost absent. Since, turmeric was one of the
major crop in Andhra Pradesh, it was given more importance by both agriculture and horticulture departments. The above reasons maybe the important attributing factors that made Andhra Pradesh a leading turmeric producing state in the country.