NER hold prospects as ‘horticulture hot spot’

Marketing of Spices in NER workshop in Dimapur 
 

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 6 (MExN): Parliamentary secretary for Horticulture, Government of Nagaland, R. Khing, today said the North Eastern Region has taken great strides in the field of horticulture and that the region has become a “horticulture hot spot” that holds bright prospects in shaping the lives of future generations.

Addressing the inaugural function of the two-day regional workshop-cum-training on ‘Marketing of Spices in NER’ at Police Complex, Chumukedima, the parliamentary secretary said that the NE Region is by and large “organic by default”, which can be explored profitably owing to the naturally available factors such as favourable climate, soil and topography.

On the horticulture activities in Nagaland, Khing said that various spice crops like large cardamom, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, betel vine and Naga King chilli are successfully grown as intercrops, mixed crops and mono crops.

He said the main thrust for cultivation of these spices on a major scale in Nagaland was taken up in the year 2001-02 and since then, these spices were identified as “focused crops” under Mini Mission II and the state horticulture department has so far covered 3750 hectares from 2001-11 for large cardamom, covering all districts except Dimapur.

Another 150 hectares for turmeric, 150 hectare for ginger and 500 hectres for Naga king chilli have been covered during 2010-11, he said.

The parliamentary secretary also informed that the Nagaland Horticulture department has the distinction of being the first state horticulture department in the NE region for getting Geographical Indication rights for Naga King chili under the brand name “Naga Mircha.”

“Further, efforts have been made by tying up with ICCOA, Bangalore, for organic certification of ginger, turmeric and large cardamom with more crops in the offing, which will ultimately bring better prices for the farmers,” Khing said.

Stating that unemployment in the NE region has presently become a major problem owning to the limited private enterprises and industries and government jobs in line with the proliferation of educated youths, Khing said that training and workshops can play a vital role in bringing about the much needed employment avenues.

“Instances on the outcome of the achievement of previous workshops and trainings is evident by the successful implementation by Naga women folk who have perfected the art of preservation and processing of food on a home scale, which is evident by availability of locally processed food items n the market,” he added.

Principal consultant of Aum Consulting Inc & marketing consultant, ICCOA, Chennai, Sunil Kumar and executive director, ICCOA, Bangalore, Manoj Kumar Menon, in their key note addresses, stressed on the challenges  of spice marketing and the need to narrow the gap between the spice farmers and consumers. Sunil Kumar said the main challenge in marketing was how to bring together the buyer and the seller and “meeting needs of the consumer profitably.”  Both the resource persons also underscored on the need to project spices from NE as organic.

Menon said that while branding, spices from NE should carry the message that though spices are produced in different parts of the country, but spices from the NE region is “organic.”

Earlier, director of Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland, Dr. Akali Sema in her welcome address said that the workshop organized by CIH jointly with National Horticulture Board and Department of Horticulture, Nagaland, has been distinctly divided into four sessions focusing on marketing opportunities of spices, initiatives of government and NGOs, value chain opportunities and a panel discussion to draw a road map of spice marketing in the NE region.

Mission director, Department of Horticulture, Nagaland, Dr.Benjong Aier, also addressed the workshop.