Known for its distinctive, flavour-loaded spices, Kerala is looking to step up their production with a spices development programme designed to tap their enduring appeal and year-round market.
The State Agriculture Department has cleared a ₹4.6 crore proposal to expand the area under the cultivation of pepper, nutmeg, clove, ginger and turmeric using improved varieties in the current fiscal. Under the programme, a total area of 1,500 hectares are to be newly brought under black pepper, 250 hectares under nutmeg, 350 hectares under clove and 890 hectares under ginger and turmeric.
The Kerala government had announced an outlay of ₹4.6 crore for development of spices in the 2023-24 budget. A departmental working group examined and cleared the detailed proposal this month.
In the case of black pepper, the department will spend ₹1.32 crore on area expansion using ‘‘promising and performing indigenous varieties and high-yield varieties’‘ developed by research stations and raised in departmental farms and decentralised nurseries. Farmers will be provided a per-hectare assistance of ₹8,000 for setting up pepper gardens, according to a May 17 department order.
For pepper, the programme also envisions the adoption of better, integrated management practices and establishment of decentralised nurseries. Small nurseries can be operated by farm groups, self-help groups, women’s groups with technical support from the department, Kerala Agricultural University and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the department noted.
Since availability and high cost of grafts are limiting factors in nutmeg cultivation, the programme gives thrust to supply of good quality planting material. With a financial outlay of ₹ 1 crore for nutmeg, farmers stand to get a per-hectare assistance of ₹40,000. In the case of clove, farmers will be distributed seedlings under the scheme (outlay, ₹34.37 lakh).
For ginger and turmeric, the department hopes to ramp up production by promoting improved, high-yield varieties and management practices. Agriculture officials calculate that since both crops are shade-tolerant with shallow roots suitable for intercropping, there is great scope for area expansion. In the current fiscal, ₹1.33 crore will be spent on the two crops under the scheme.
Agriculture data for 2022 show Kerala has 76,351 hectares under pepper, 2924 hectares under ginger, 2203 hectares under turmeric, 206.82 hectares under clove and 20,422.63 hectares under nutmeg. In the case of spices like clove, ginger and turmeric, crop-wise area has dipped since the early 2000s. On the other hand, area under nutmeg has gone up.
