Turmeric cultivation in Chamarajanagar district has been declining due to the drudgery and complexities involved in harvesting and boiling rhizomes. To address this problem, ICAR-KVK Chamarajanagar introduced a turmeric harvester and a steam-operated boiler under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Method demonstrations were conducted to facilitate adoption, and both machines gained acceptance owing to their operational efficiency.
The turmeric harvester and steam boiler significantly reduced labor and operational costs, achieving cost savings of 53.55% and 50.00% per operation, respectively. Mechanized harvesting required only 10 hours per hectare compared with 8 days manually, while boiling was completed within 2 days against 10-12 days using traditional methods. The interventions resulted in total savings of ?46,550 per hectare (?28,550 from harvesting and ?18,000 from boiling).
The findings highlight the effectiveness of mechanization in reducing drudgery, saving time and costs, and indirectly minimizing the role of middlemen in marketing. These results suggest that farm mechanization under a PPP model can enhance turmeric production sustainability and improve farmer profitability.
International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development
