Unlocking Golden Spice Potential in Northeast

 The launching of the National Turmeric Board is good news for turmeric growers of the Northeast region for whom it is an important cash crop. India is the largest producer, consumer, and exporter of turmeric in the world, accounting for more than 62% of the global trade. Increasing the region’s share in the global trade is critical to ensuring the financial stability of turmeric growers in the region. Inclusion of a representative from Meghalaya, which is famous for its ‘Lakadong’ variety of turmeric, in the national board is laudable and is expected to facilitate special attention to turmeric production not just in the state but also in other parts of the region. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, while inaugurating the board, said that it will promote research and development of new turmeric products and will explore the value addition of turmeric-related products for marketing abroad. The Board will also create awareness on the essential and medical properties of turmeric, ways to increase its yield, and boost logistics and supply chain to foster trade into newer markets, he said. The cultivation of turmeric in the region, which is traditionally organic in nature, is a great advantage, but its commercial potential is yet to be fully unlocked. Certification of agricultural produce traditionally grown organically as organic products is the greatest barrier for growers to leverage the increasing demand for organic turmeric in the domestic and global markets. Apart from its use as a condiment and its medicinal values, the demand for organic turmeric has also substantially increased in the natural colour industry, including the food industry, as a healthier alternative to artificial colouring agents in bakery, dairy, and other food products. The cultivation of the ‘Lakadang’ variety in Delhi along the Jamuna floodplains brought to the fore the vulnerabilities of traditional growers of the spice in Meghalaya even after its recognition under Geographical Indication. The Meghalaya government had to issue a warning against the cultivation of the GI-tagged turmeric variety and marketing it as ‘Lakadang’ turmeric outside the designated geographical area of the state. The National Turmeric Board is expected to play its role to safeguard the interests of the growers and their traditional knowledge on turmeric in the region. The ‘Lakadang’ variety is one of the finest quality turmeric because of its high curcumin content, and the credit goes to traditional growers of Meghalaya for maintaining the quality through their authentic and traditional knowledge of growing it. Because of favourable soil and climate conditions, turmeric is also a major spice crop for traditional farmers in Assam, but its commercial production has remained low compared to its potential. The Board is focusing on improving processing facilities to overcome the challenge of traditional open-air The sun-drying method, being found not suitable for meeting growing market demand, will go a long way in not only expanding the area under cultivation of the spice but will also significantly augment the income of traditional growers. States in the region joining hands in impressing upon the central government that strengthening the organic certification process in the region is crucial for traditional turmeric growers to tap the potential markets. Each state having its own organic certification agency is essential to reduce dependence on organic certification agencies in states outside the region, which is time-consuming and tedious. So far, Sikkim and Meghalaya are the two states in the region having the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority certified organic certification agency. Certification is crucial for the growth of the local organic market as well as unlocking the export market potential due to growing health consciousness among people pushing demand for raw as well as processed organic food and cosmetic products. The central government-funded schemes like Mission Organic Value Chain Development have made available increasing funding support in the region for the expansion of area under organic farming and organic farming adoption in areas that are dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides for boosting production because of the favourable funding pattern with the central government sharing 90% of the expenditure and the states in the region sharing just 10% of the estimated cost. The region benefitting from the scheme is demonstrated by the expansion of area under organic farming. However, the majority of youth in the region are yet to find commercial organic farming a better livelihood option, which speaks volumes about gaps, more particularly about their apprehension over getting remunerative returns on their investment of time and money for want of a required market for lack of a dependable supply chain and logistics. In the current competitive environment, youths do not want to lose their best years experimenting without assurance of a remunerative return and hence look for alternative livelihood avenues to shape their careers. States addressing these gaps in collaboration will be crucial to optimally capitalise on the traditional knowledge of turmeric growers in making the Northeast a globally important commercial hub of the golden spice.