Rajasthan Farmer Adds Turmeric Crop to Existing Farm Economy
Mangalsingh Ganaga is a farmer from Phalwa village in Rajasthan's Banswara district. He cultivates six bighas of irrigated land and grows maize, black gram, sesame, patharia rice during kharif season, and chickpea and wheat in winter. The family also keeps buffaloes, bullocks, cows, and goats.
In July 2025, Ganaga tried turmeric on a small plot of land, using seed supplied by the VAAGDHARA organization's Sachchi Kheti programme. He planted it with cow-dung manure and dashparni extract, and received technical supervision from the Farmer Field School.
The crop was harvested in May 2026, yielding 60 kg of turmeric from five kilograms of seed. Ganaga sold 20 kg raw at Rs 150 per kg, earning Rs 3,000, and ground another 30 kg into powder for Rs 400 a kg, making Rs 12,000.
The processing allowed him to obtain a better price from part of what he produced. The case does not establish turmeric as a profitable crop across regions, but shows that farmers can test higher-value crops without shifting large shares of land into them and improve prices with processing.