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Spices Board chairman V. J. Kurien, IAS has ambitious plans to expand India's spices business. The board is already on a wave of export buoyancy thanks to a surging world demand. Spices export increased close to 50 percent during April-August period. India exported US$421.16 million worth spices during this period while it was only US$ 280.71 million in same time last year.
However, Kurien cannot be expected to take a laid-back approach and let events pass by. He would like to create events as evidenced from his earlier successful stints at the helm in Cochin International Airport Ltd and Roads and Bridges Corporation Ltd.
In an interview to Commodity Market Special Correspondent, Sreekumar Raghavan, he said Spices Board (formerly Cardamom Board) needs only to take care of cardamom according to a law.
But in practice, it has to cater to 52 different commodities spread across the entire nation. Besides, Spices Board is limited in terms of staff, resources and budgetary support when compared with commodity boards. But these constraints are no obstacle for the ambitious Kurien. The following are excerpts from the interview.
What are your expansion plans for the next five years?
We have submitted proposals for Rs.350 crore of 11th Plan funding. To overcome the supply side bottlenecks we have re-plantation schemes for pepper and cardamom. For cardamom it is Rs.212 crore and pepper cultivation will be enlarged to 68,000 hectares under the National Horticulture Mission.
How far can we solve the quality control problems to increase spice exports?
We need to set up testing and quality labs in major centers. We will have such centers in Mumbai, Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta so that Sudanese dye issue as it happened to our chilli powders should not be repeated. The facilities should be in place within six months.
What about the proposed spices parks?
The objective is to acquire 100 to 200 acres of land (mostly by state governments). The parks will have common cleaning, grading, warehousing facilities and commodity exchange terminals. Farmers can bring their produce, get a ware house receipt and get bank funding from the bank within the park. For common facilities 18-20 acres will be allocated, the rest will be utilized by industry. We have plans for Idukki in Kerala (cardamom, pepper), Madhya Pradesh (garlic, red chillies), Uttar Pradesh (Mint), Rajasthan (Fenugreek, Cumins), Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (turmeric and chilly). Altogether, we are planning 27 parks that will cover all the states and all the spices.
What plans do you have for the North Eastern Region?
We have plans to promote organic farming in North-East where there is tremendous potential. We also have funded two companies in the region with Rs.1 crore each as equity, which can be brought back by the companies once they are in a comfortable position. We are doing the handholding exercise in terms of finance, project support and technology.
How far have we been successful in finding out the medicinal uses of spices?
Already a lot of research has been undertaken in our universities and in USA. Turmeric has anti-cancer properties. Similarly, black pepper has several uses in digestive systems. It increases bio-availability of food in our stomach. CSIR has done a useful compilation of existing research done on spices in medicine. Now that we have got that report, we would be exploring its commercial applications.
In spices, what are innovative farm management strategies to be worked out?
We need to evolve innovative farm management practices for majority of our spices. If we look at cardamom, the number of pickings should be reduced to four or five a year instead of 10 or 11 as is being practiced now. Instead of trying to protect the green boulder, we should allow it to ripen and thereby prevent a Thrips attack. The ripened boulders can be fine grounded or even easily converted to oleoresins.
Shouldn't there be more co-ordination between Kerala Agricultural University, Indian Cardamom Research Institute and Indian Spices Research Institute?
I had called a meeting of the scientists of these institutions recently. Yes, I am of the view that there should be co-ordination between these institutes for better results on the field. They should work together than duplicating each others work, worse, sometimes doing nothing at all.
What are the long term prospects for vanilla?
Despite our best efforts we have not been able to raise the vanilla prices for a long time. The basic fault lies with our farmers. Vanilla should be grown as a supplementary crop in our coconut gardens. It is basically an orchid, not a mono-crop.
What are long-term growth targets set by Spices Board?
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