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Kerala has suffered a production loss of more than 25,000 tonnes of spices, valued at ₹1,254 crore in the devastating floods that wiped out 58,379 hectares of agricultural land, says a study carried out by the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR).
The State cultivates 1,62,660 hectares of spices with an annual production of 1,40,000 tonnes.
Idukki and Wayanad, together accounting for nearly 62 per cent of the spice cultivation, suffered a major loss due to the floods and rains in August that had crippled Kerala’s agricultural production, in which plantation and spice crops are the backbone.
The major crops considered in the study include black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, and clove, which make up 90 per cent of the total spice crop. The survey was undertaken with the support of the State Agriculture Department and other agencies in 60 villages across 27 community development blocks in seven districts.
Production loss
K Nirmal Babu, Director, IISR and Santhosh J Eapen, Head (Crop Production) pointed out that black pepper witnessed a production loss of 10,700 tonnes valued at ₹402 crore as the rains destroyed 26,614 hectares of the crop.
The production loss in cardamom is estimated at 6,600 tonnes valued at ₹679 crore. In the perennial tree spices such as nutmeg and clove, the loss was pegged at 2,749 tonnes of nutmeg valued at ₹101.8 crore and 13 tonnes of clove worth ₹0.93 crore.
Meanwhile, ginger and turmeric have a crop loss of 976 tonnes and 396 tonnes, respectively, and the damage was valued at ₹6.05 crore and ₹8.68 crore.
According to the study, the total loss will escalate to ₹3,900 crore if the variable and fixed cost inputs, the cost of re-establishing the crops and the long gestation period to attain full bearing, were taken into account.
Analysis of the plant and soil samples collected during the survey also indicated widespread presence of Phytophthora in black pepper, cardamom and nutmeg samples.
The agency suggested that measures be taken for management of pests and diseases as well as soil amelioration in all flood-affected estates.
A large-scale replanting programme with high yielding varieties has been recommended to rejuvenate the flood-hit areas. It will require planting materials of about 58.5 million rooted cuttings of black pepper, 17.2 million units of cardamom, etc.
The cost for preparing the planting materials alone is estimated to be ₹194 crore and other input costs such as fertilisers, micro-nutrients, and bio agents have been pegged at ₹182 crore.
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