The Hindu Business Line : Nutmeg, mace output drops on inadequate support

Farmers' woes
Much of the local produce is being exported, which has resulted in higher imports.
Growers seek Government support for crop protection against pest attacks.

Kochi June 25 The production of nutmeg and mace have by and large remained stagnant for want of sufficient support.

The change in climate of late, according to growers, has led to increased fungus and pest attacks and to counter that adequate assistance is not forthcoming from the Government. This has led to decline in yield, they claimed.

Concern over exports

"Export figures imply that much of what is indigenously produced is shipped because of good international prices and to meet the domestic demand it is imported in large quantity," they alleged.

Of the estimated total output of 2,400 tonnes, the country exported 2,100 tonnes of nutmeg and mace valued at Rs 42.74 crore in 2006-07 against 1,530 tonnes valued at Rs 31.17 crore in the previous fiscal.

Rising imports

Meanwhile, imports of the commodity increased to 1,500 tonnes valued at over Rs 30 crore in 2006-07 against about 1,300 tonnes in 2005-06.

The unit value of imported nutmeg was Rs 139.08 a kg while that of mace was Rs 260.96 a kg. It appears that much of the domestic requirement is met by imports, official sources said.

Kerala is the main producer of this aromatic spice having medicinal properties. The State had 8,418 hectares under the crop followed by Karanataka 228 ha and Tamil Nadu 29 ha in 2002-03, according to Spices Board statistics. It is not grown anywhere else in the country, they said.

Budding of plants

Banks of rivers, Pampa, Manimala and Periyar because of its alluvial soil and wet conditions are where it is grown.

Normally, it takes 7-8 years to know if the tree is a fruit bearing female.

Therefore, in recent years enterprising growers started undertaking budding of the plants using healthy and yielding mother plants in their own plantations. Many growers in Kalady, Perumbavoor, Moovattupuzha in Ernakulam district have done budding with 80 per cent, said Mr Chackochan, an engineer turned agriculturist of Majoor near Kalady.

Fungus, pest attacks

However, the major problem now is fungus and pest attacks, which have affected the yield. In addition, the cost of spraying of fungicides/pesticides had gone up substantially, forcing the growers to reduce the frequency of spraying.

On the other hand, the high returns from rubber has enthused many growers to switch over to this lucrative crop.

He said there was a 30 per cent decline in the nutmeg yield because of the fungus attack, which dried up the branches.

"We sell the dried nutmeg nuts at Rs 80 a kg, while mace fetches Rs 340-350 a kg." The return per tree varies but on an average it comes to Rs 2,000 a year, he said.

Organised marketing

According to Dr Thomas P. Thomas, a Botany lecturer and agriculturist in Kozhenchery, on an average he was getting Rs 3,500- 4,000 per tree a year.

As the tree grows there is a gradual decline in the yield, he said.

In his area, traders come and buy the nuts and mace at market price during the harvesting season, he said.

Except in certain areas, it is grown in homesteads and hence, the growers are not organised.

They consider it as a blessing that the traders come and procure the produce from the growers' homes, said Mr N.K.S. Nair of Thottapuzhassery in Pathanamthitta district.

However, they believe that if there was a systematic marketing network, the returns would be better.

Both Mr Chackochan and Dr Thomas believe that nutmeg can be produced organically as it does not require chemical fertilisers.

Organic manures could be applied. Similarly, organic pesticides/fungicides can be sprayed if they are made available.

They said the authorities were yet to recognise nutmeg as a viable crop and as a result, adequate support through extension services had not been in existence so far.

If more imports were allowed, the importance of this traditional crop would diminish and the growers would switch over to more lucrative rubber, they added.

The global demand for nutmeg is estimated to be around 5,000 tonnes, while there is said to be a growing demand for organic nutmeg and mace, part of which could be cornered by the Indian growers, they claimed.

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