Dimapur: A pilot project on the e-selling of large cardamom of Nagaland was launched on Friday.
D Sathiyan, secretary of, Spices Board, Kochi, virtually launched the pilot project at an export-oriented seminar with a focus on spices of Nagaland and the launch of e-selling of large cardamom held at Chumoukedima.
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Speaking on the occasion, the adviser to the horticulture and border affairs department Mhathung Yanthan said the initiative taken by Spices Board will go a long way in creating opportunities for farmers to market, produce and fetch revenue.
He said the board has been developing and promoting spices cultivation across the country and Nagaland over the last 35 years by introducing high-tech cultivation technology.
Yantha noted that with the growing market and market competition, e-selling has come at an appropriate time that will further strengthen the development in the spices sector.
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He added that the launch of the e-selling platform will bring the spice-growing community together to participate in selling and buying their produce.
He also hoped that this digital platform will attract a huge number of exporters and traders.
He urged the exporters and traders to support the spices farmers by marketing their produce that is organic and pest and disease-free.
Yanthan said quality standards, low productivity and socio-economic factors like storage facilities, and the non-existence of market infrastructure are the major challenges that need to be addressed.
Agriculture production commissioner Y Kikheto Sema said Nagaland produces around 2133 metric tons of cardamom annually which is cultivated in 3,873 hectares of land.
He said the initiative on the e-selling of large cardamom is the first of its kind in the state.
He hoped that e-selling the spice will create larger market outreach and better opportunities for selling and buying, besides easing the business process and promoting better transparency.
Among other indigenous spices, Sema said, the state produces 35,000 metric tons of ginger, 9191 metric tons of turmeric and 2490 metric tons of king chilly annually.
He said India is the largest producer of spices in the world with the Northeast region as one of the main contributors.
Sema said the state agriculture, horticulture, land resources and rural development departments have been supporting the farmers with assistance for the cultivation of large cardamom for the last several years to enhance the income of the farming community.
“However, there are still many challenges such as drying, grading, packaging, and market linkages that need to be addressed in order to enable our farmers to get better price realization,” he said.
Sema added that strategic intervention in pre and post-harvest management with innovative technologies, inclusive business plans, linkage with buyers and innovative platforms for selling the products of the farmers should be the way forward.