The support price for cashew nuts stood at Rs 105 a kg, which cashew farmers said is low, not profitable and should therefore be raised. While cashew farmers were looking at a price ranging between Rs 140 and Rs 150 a kg, one MLA, Prasad Gaonkar of Sanguem, has sought the doubling of the minimum support price to Rs 200 a kg. The government having taken cognisance of the issue, during a meeting to discuss the losses to the agricultural community, decided to revise the price, and an in-principle approval has been given for the new support price of Rs 125 a kg. This does not come near the figure sought by the farmers, nor the figure that had proposed by the MLA. Along with cashew nuts, in-principle approval for a revision in the support price of coconut from Rs 10 per nut to Rs 12 per nut and alsano to Rs 100 per kg from Rs 70 per kg has been granted.
While this approval remains in-principle – and the farmers have already objected to the paltry increase – it still has to be cleared by the Finance Department before it can be notified. The minimum support price is the main mechanism which a farmer has to safeguard him from losses that could result from a sudden fall in prices. It is a form of market intervention by the government to protect agricultural producers, and the minimum support price is usually announced at the beginning of the sowing season. It is a sort of a guarantee price, that the farmer can bank upon in times of market instability, as if the market price falls below that amount, than the produce is purchased by government agencies at the minimum price.
The question that arises is whether the Rs 125 a kg minimum support price can keep the cashew farmers out of the red? Across the State there are thousands of families who are involved in cashew farming. While the cashew apple is seldom eaten, it is mostly used to produce urrak and feni, while the nut is processed and sold at a high price. The Goa cashew nut is a recognised brand, and almost every tourist family that visits the State returns home with at least one packet of cashew nuts. Such is the demand for the nuts that Goa has to import nuts as it fails to produce enough quantity for sale.
In his letter to the government on the cashew nut price issue, the Sanguem MLA has presented the economics of the trade. According to him, the current market price of packaged cashew nut varies between Rs 1100 and Rs 1500 per kg or above depending on the quality and size. According to him, the cost of the finished product is around Rs 500 to Rs 550 a kg. Gaonkar pointed out that the operational cost for the farmer on a cashew plantation comes to around Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000, while the annual income from cashew at current market price is between Rs 60,000 to Rs one lakh. This does bring doubts on whether the new minimum support price will suffice.
Cashew farmers have other problems, which include the dwindling availability of land for the cultivation of the fruit, the changes in weather, pollution and the fact that the younger generation having sought white-collared jobs, the high wages to be paid to the labourers required to work on the farm. With production down, and price at a minimum, cashew farming stands at a crossroad with its future a little uncertain. Besides the minimum support price, what the activity requires is a boost of a different nature that will keep cashew farmers in business. After all, without cashews there will neither be the nut, nor the feni the drink that has got a GI tag.
