Mysuru: In the last ten years, the production of spices has doubled to seven million tonnes a year, said Homi Cheriyan, Director, Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, Kozhikode.
Speaking during the two-day national conference on “Spices: Challenges and opportunities” on the theme “Strategies for Sustainable Spice Processing” organised by the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, he said, “Despite realising the medicinal values of spices, apart from using them in-house, India has failed to commercialise its usage.” He stressed on the need for maintaining quality produce and advised farmers to not fall prey to chemicals in order to increase the production. He also mentioned that there was a need to create awareness among the farmers over the usage of bio-pesticides and availability of easy-to-use technology.
Dr. Kantipudi Nirmal Babu, Director, Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, emphasised on the need for quality produce of spices in India. He also mentioned that industry had a huge opportunity and potential if the quality of spices was not compromised. He also advised farmers to develop good agricultural practices and focus on getting high value and not volume. He also mentioned that three thousand varieties of black pepper alone were grown in India besides varieties of turmeric, ginger and other spices.
Demonstration of spices processing and an exhibition displaying various spices and some processed using the CFTRI’s technology were part of the conference.
