THE farmers say that turmeric roots, which are used as a mosquito repellent, are a good sale item for them.
“It is good for the farmers. It is easy to deliver. We dig and sell them by ourselves without brokers. It is not bad. There is already a market for it, so it is good for the farmers and we can grow it on a small scale,” said a turmeric farmer in Hinthada Township.
They will start digging turmeric roots this month, and sell them directly to the Bayintnaung warehouses, without going through brokers.
“We will dig them by the end of this month. Our farmers in Hinthada do not sell turmeric roots to brokers. They sell it directly at the Bayintnaung market in Yangon. We boil and dry turmeric roots in the sun. It is used as a mosquito repellent,” he added.
Turmeric grows naturally in many parts of Myanmar. It is also cultivated commercially. The turmeric powder is used as a spice, and some use turmeric roots to make mosquito repellents. It grows during the rainy season, blooms in the months of Waso and Wakhaung, and harvested plants are sold as turmeric powder or roots. — Thit Taw/ZN
