Arjun Munda hands over awards in virtual ceremony from Delhi
Seraikela, August 6: Turmeric being grown by farmers in Raijama village of tribal-dominated Kharsawan block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district was honored with ‘Award for Innovative Product Ideas’ at the national level by Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda during a virtual function organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (Trifed) to mark its 34th foundation day in Delhi.
Speaking at the event, Arjun Munda congratulated the team and said, “I am pleased to note that Trifed has doubled its efforts throughout the pandemic in aiding aided the tribal people in employment and livelihood generation and working steadfastly towards its mission of tribal empowerment through enterprise and commerce.”
The Union minister also congratulated villagers of Raijama for bagging the award.
Trifed had made this product from the villagers of Raijama available at Trifed outlets across the country.
The processing of the product is being done by uniting the farmers of Raijema. The packaging material has been given to the villagers and machine is provided for packing. For this the help of self-help groups is being taken. Turmeric is grown on a large scale in Raijema and nearby villages.
The farmers here still used to sell turmeric from Poila (a sort of turmeric measurement sheet). With the Trifed taking up the production, villagers have started getting good price of turmeric. It is said that farmers have been cultivating turmeric for 60-65 years without any chemical fertilizers. Almost all the people of Raijema village apply turmeric.
Union minister Arjun Munda who is also the Khunti MP from Jharkhand directed Trifed to cooperate with the villagers. After this the team of Trifed went there and observed turmeric was of good quality and formed a women’s self-help group and supported them in providing turmeric cooking items etc.
There was already a grinding machine there. The same grinding machine was requested to make powder. It was tested in the Government Food Lab of Ranchi. The quality of the product was much better than normal turmeric. Generally turmeric contains around two percent curcumin. But this turmeric had more than seven percent.
Trifed is preparing to make the people of the village self-reliant by giving initial support. Arrangements have also been made by Trifed to provide market linkage for the product.. This turmeric produced by Raijma village is being sold in major centres of the country. It is said that earlier the villagers used to sell turmeric at the rate of Rs 80 rupees per poila. After processing, packs ranging from 100 to 700 grams have been prepared. The price of 100 grams is Rs 35, the price of 250 grams is Rs 80, the price of 500 grams is Rs 145, and the price of 700 grams has been kept at Rs 190.
The active ingredient curcumin is found in turmeric. It provides relief from pain and protects against heart diseases. This element also maintains the insulin level and also works to enhance the effect of diabetes medicines. Turmeric is a good antioxidant.