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The newly set up Spices Park at Puttady in Idukki district by the Spices Board is expected to boost the production of the globally known spices such as black pepper and cardamom in a big way besides giving new issues on storage, processing and marketing.
The Park which is to be inaugurated next month was set up at an investment of Rs 27crore on 12.5 acre, which was purchased and leased out to the Spices Board for a period of 30 years by the Cardamom Development Trust out of the cardamom development fund, a voluntary contribution made by the cardamom growers in the Idukki district. The location is well positioned in terms of availability of raw materials.
Establishing regional crop-specific Spices Parks is a well-conceived approach to have an integrated, centralised operation for post-harvest management, processing for value-addition, packaging, storage and marketing of spices and spice products. Through the Spices Park, the spice farmers will be empowered with infrastructure facilities for cleaning, colour sorting, grading, packing, warehousing and marketing which will fetch a better price realization for their produce, Spices Board officials said.
Improved quality
Due to the upgraded processing facilities, the overall quality of the finished products will also be improved. The processing facilities for value-addition to be established in the park will lead to enhanced processing capabilities of the spice industry which would facilitate the export of garden-fresh spices in value added forms. Since the Park is coming up right in the spice growing regions, the proximity of the processing units in the park would enable to forge a closer and lasting relationship among the growers, traders and exporters.
Cardamom growers to benefit
The cardamom growers will be the main beneficiaries from the Spices Park. Cardamom being a peculiar crop adapted to the particular agro-eco climatic condition in Idukki district, has limited scope for expansion to other areas. Ninety nine per cent of cardamom growers are in the small and marginal categories. They can bring the produce to the park, clean, colour sort and grade it. If there is no immediate sale of the produce, the farmers can store cardamom in the puff godown where longevity of colour is ensured even for one year.
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