SHLLONG, April 28: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said that the production of Lakadong turmeric, also known as wonder turmeric, has jumped fivefold in Meghalaya, adding that the state is on the verge of extracting curcumin locally to give more value to the farmers.
Informing that the government will soon come out with facts and figures, the CM said that one would be surprised to see how these mission mode programmes are working while citing Lakadong Mission. “We had about 1,000 farmers attached or connected to Lakadong cultivation and today after the entire mission started, we have over 12,000 farmers who are in the Lakadong production,” the CM said.
“Our production overall has almost jumped five times in terms of what we use to produce and not only that today we already have set up 15 processing units which actually process the turmeric. We are also on the verge of extracting the curcumin locally so that we are able to give more value to the farmers,” he added.
Stressing that these are strengths of the state, Conrad said, “We need to realise our strength and it is important to build up those strengths.”
It may be noted that the Lakadong turmeric from West Jaintia Hills, one of the world’s finest turmeric varieties with the highest curcumin content of 7-9 per cent in comparison to 3 per cent or less in other varieties, is fast-becoming a game-changer for the economy of the district.
Meghalaya has also applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Lakadong turmeric.
The percentage of curcumin and oleoresin content in turmeric determines the demand by the industry along with the price. India is the largest producer and exporter of turmeric, according to data from APEDA, 2019.