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Once bitten, twice shy -- Kerala farmers unwilling to cultivate vanilla

G.K. Nair

KOCHI, Dec. 14

FARMERS in Kerala, who burnt their fingers experimenting with cocoa cultivation a few decades ago, are reluctant to take up vanilla, fearing lack of buying support and proper remunerative prices.

Many farmers took up cocoa cultivation felling coconuts and other tree crops in the 1960s and 1970s in Kerala. It turned out to be a failure due to over supply and low demand and, in fact, the situation drove these farmers into dire straits.

A farmers' group which cultivated cocoa in the Pathanmthitta district told Business Line, ``We are not for any experiment with vanilla in a similar way. We might do it if the market is ensured.''

Many farmers reverted to pepper, and other spices such as clove and nutmeg. Even though there was some improvement in the market following the arrival of multinationals engaged in manufacturing chocolate products, the farmers felt that the cocoa market w as highly unpredictable, both in terms of price and demand. The situation reached a stage that promoting cocoa cultivation became a major problem for the developmental agencies, a senior official for Cocoa and Cashew Development under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, said.

However, the `apprehensions about vanilla cultivation are unfounded', Mr Philip Kuruvilla, Vice-President, AVT McCormick, said. His company, the world's largest extractor of spices with a share of 40 per cent of world imports, had taken a pro-producer fr iendly approach. The vanilla beans were procured directly from the farmers paying them standard prices based on the international prices.

He said the farmers were not encouraged to undertake pure vanilla cultivation and instead they had taken it up as an inter-crop.

Besides, vanilla did not require any chemical fertiliser or pesticides. This could be grown organically and hence it was environment-friendly. The income derived from vanilla cultivation could supplement the income of each peasant family, he said.

Unlike cocoa, vanilla could be grown only in certain geographical conditions, at higher elevations. This required 1,200 mm rainfall spread over 10 months, Dr K. Gopinathan, General Manager, Agro-Products and R&D, of AVT McCormick, said.

Given the ever-growing shift towards natural products the world over, the demand for natural vanillin would only tend to grow. And in that case, if vanilla was taken up as an intercrop and as a homestead garden crop such as orchids, it could become viabl e, he said.