Economic Importance of Consuming Homemade Turmeric: A Case of Kandy District in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Turmeric or Curcuma longa L. is prized in Sri Lankan cuisine for its delicate flavor, distinct yellow color, and potent aroma. This great spice is highly praised in Ayurveda medicine for its anti- inflammatory properties as well. However, unlike the ancient time, cultivation of turmeric at household level at the recent past was not so significant and the country heavily relies on imported turmeric. Short-time after COVID 19 pandemic in the country, the government banned on non- essential imports including turmeric. Due to very high price and shortage of turmeric in the market and impact of black market of turmeric, while some people adopted to cultivate turmeric in small scale some people did it at large-scales. This study was conducted to study the present situation of consumption of homemade turmeric in Kandy district of the country and understand the economic importance of it. 150 turmeric cultivators were selected for the study. Data collection was conducted using questionnaire survey from June to August 2022. Data analyses were done using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. According to the results, it was discovered that after drying turmeric, convert into a powder and consumed by them. When economic importance are concerned, their average income was found as 11,095.238 rupees per season and average saving was found as 797.13 rupees per person per season. Also a positive relationship was found between consumption of homemade turmeric and its independent variables (family members, monthly income, interest for turmeric, and market price of turmeric) by the study. As a whole, the growers adopted to homemade turmeric as consumption of homemade turmeric is economically and hygienically very important. If there is a good market, most of the turmeric cultivators are willing to grow turmeric continuously. So, they expect proper knowledge related to do cultivation and processing of turmeric. It is very important to pay attention on this and provide proper training programs and good market price for turmeric, in order to enhance the turmeric production of the country in the future. 

Keywords: Turmeric cultivation, Homemade Turmeric, Consumption, Economic importance