North East to be developed as new 'spice destination'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To tap North East states' potential to emerge as a destination for cultivation of spices, the Spices Board has embarked on plans to promote farming of a wide range of produce that fetch great demand in domestic and global markets.

According to the Board, with Assam in the core location, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram are congenial grounds for commercial cultivation of spices retaining their unique generic properties.

Spice India, the official journal of Kochi-based Spices Board, said the rich land and the alluvial soil deposits along the Brahmaputra river basin and the tropical rain forests offer a splendid backdrop for organic farming.

"Given a support, these factors can contribute towards improving farm incomes, enhancing food and nutrition security, accelerating the overall economic growth of the region and marketability of produce from this region," the journal said.

The project is expected to give a fillip to a variety of spices like Naga chillies, highly pungent bird's eye chillies of Mizoram, high curcumin bearing Lakadong turmeric of Meghalaya, Himalayan ginger and large cardamom.

To start with, the Board will come up with flagship schemes in Arunachal Pradesh, partnering with the state Horticulture Department, as part of which an MoU has already been signed.

Spices Board Chairman A Jayathilak, who was in Arunachal Pradesh last month, offered to provide critical support like establishing primary processing units closer to production areas for traders and exporters to procure clean spices.