The Tobacco Board will soon introduce geo-tagging of FCV tobacco crop in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Aim is to ensure that farmers are able to adopt latest techniques of cultivation, besides helping the board in planning its extension activities.
“The board, with the help of the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI), will impart hand-son training to one farmer in latest techniques. The farmer will handle about 500 acres and in turn train another farmer and help him choose better quality seed, fertilizer, etc.,” Tobacco Board Chairman Y. Raghunadha Babu said on Wednesday.
Farm mechanisation was one among the host of initiatives taken up during the last one year to reduce the cost of cultivation, he said.
Dwindling crop size
“The crop size of FCV tobacco has dwindled from 311 million kg in 2008-2011 to 216 million kg in 2016-2019. It may come down further to 200 million kg this year. While the cost of cultivation has gone up, the average price has not increased beyond 50%,” Mr. Raghunadha Babu said.
“The ITC had set up a loose leaf mechanical barn in West Godavari district in 2020. We have set up four such barns with subsidy. Now, we are proposing a subsidy of ₹1 lakh for each barn and plan to set up 50 barns next year. The loose leaf barn reduces 60% of labour and curing costs,” said Mr. Raghunadha Babu.
The board had also taken initiatives to improve productivity by about 15% to 20% by brining in new varieties in FCR-15 of southern region in Prakasam district.
“To mitigate the losses, I have convinced the Commerce Ministry to reduce the penalty from 15% to 10%, and proposed to reduce further to 7.5%,” he said.
“I have toured 31 auction platforms in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in six months to study the industry before COVID-19. Since the lockdown has been lifted, I have started touring again. Our endeavour is to see smiles back on the faces of the farmers,” Mr. Raghunatha Babu said.
