With rising pesticide content material affecting cardamom exports, the Spices Board has launched an initiative to advertise natural strategies in organic cardamom farming in Idukki. According to Spices Board officers, international nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, are the main patrons of cardamom and since 2018 they’ve determined to not purchase the cardamom from India as a consequence of pesticide content material.
During the 2017-18 interval, India exported 5,650 tonnes of cardamom. But since 2018, the export has largely lowered. “In the last financial year, India exported only 1,850 tonnes of cardamom and in the current FY it has been decided to export 6,500 tonnes. But the export till date stands at just 18 tonnes. We have checked six pesticides for a sample and found the content of two pesticides in the spice. Detection of pesticide residue above the maximum residue level affects the export and market of cardamom,” stated Spices Board assistant director V Vijeeshna.
“Saudi Arabia is the main importer of Indian cardamom and they consume it for chewing purposes. When the pesticides issue was addressed by the Saudi people they stopped importing cardamom from India,” she said. The Spices Board in affiliation with Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) will present help to advertise natural farming of cardamom within the district. “Presently 15 farmers have shown willingness to turn to organic farming on a trial basis. The trial will be conducted on 165 hectares of land. If it is fetching the desired results, we can change to organic farming in the future,” added the official.
She stated {that a} farmer from Nettithozhu in Idukki has already turned to organic cardamom farming and the KAU and Spices Board are offering help to him. “In our experience it is a big success,” she stated.
The official stated that Cardamom is cultivated in almost 40,000ha in Idukki by small and large-scale farmers and it’s their livelihood. “Exporting is the major option for the cardamom sector. Some farmers had been using banned pesticides in the past as they were unaware of its consequences,” stated Vijeeshna.
She stated if the farmers wished to shift to organic strategies sooner or later, they need to bear coaching.
Cardamom market was badly hit because of the pandemic with costs dipping from Rs7,000 per kg in August, 2019 to Rs 1,000-1,200 in September, 2021 within the native market. The common worth recorded at a public sale held on the Spices Park in Bodinayakanur on Tuesday was Rs. 1,062/kg.
