The Hindu Business Line : Strategy paper on sesame cultivation ready

The Shellac and Minor Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL) has drafted a strategy paper (already forwarded to the State Government) to bring sesame cultivation and processing in West Bengal under the Government of India's Backward Region Grant Fund.

The State Panchayat and Rural Development Department is already coordinating this programme with the council, which has already started preliminary work on this project.

The council has suggested that sesame seed farms and processing units in growing areas may be set up, in collaboration with the State Government, to increase both production and exports of this valuable agri commodity from West Bengal.

Talking to Business Line here, Mr Pradeep Kumar Shaw, Chairman of the Council, said as per the paper prepared by the council for sesame seeds cultivation, emphasis would be on both cropping, seed quality, skills and competency development on the part of farmers as well as creation of a platform for selling the produce.

TARGET AREAS

He said the proposed target areas for this programme were districts of Bankura, Midnapore East, Midnapore West, Murshidabad and Birbhum. As per projections, the benefit in terms of income for targeted beneficiaries may be around Rs 11,000 per year per beneficiary.

According to the council, West Bengal produced nearly 25 per cent of country's production of sesame seeds, though not so much of export quality. According to Mr Shaw, the need of the hour was to continuously upgrade competitive capabilities by educating the cultivators on pre and post-harvest practices, improving process techniques and storage practices which were sensitive and vital areas from the export point of view. He said the yield of sesame seeds was now low, making it less remunerative for farmers who cultivate this crop.

According to the council, a worrying factor was that while there has been a perceptible decline in production of sesame seeds nationally, the major shortfall is said to have come from West Bengal, arguably the largest producer of sesame seeds in the country. The average yield in India is said to be around 320 tonnes per hectare against a world average of 448 tonnes per ha.

China boasts a maximum yield of 1100 tonnes per ha, said Mr Shaw. India and China are the world's largest producers of sesame, followed by Myanmar, Sudan, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela, Turkey, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Seasame (Sesamum Indicum), native to India, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Africa, is grown in most tropical, sub-tropical, and southern temperate areas of the world

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