Spice cultivators should think globally: Kerala Governor
He said Indian farmers should be provided with better infrastructure like better storage facilities so that they could stay up-to-date with their counterparts from other countries.
Published: 22nd January 2019 01:25 AM | Last Updated: 22nd January 2019 07:56 AM | A+A A-
Kerala Governor P Sathasivam (File photo | EPS)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Spice cultivators should be encouraged to think globally and make use of the latest farming technologies, said Governor P Sathasivam. Inaugurating the fourth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), Sathasivam said advanced practices with an eye on global standards are key to ensure success in the global market.
He said Indian farmers should be provided with better infrastructure like better storage facilities so that they could stay up-to-date with their counterparts from other countries.“Ensuring transparency and equality in fixing global quality standards for spices and herbs can strengthen the global food safeguard without compromising on safety,” said Sathasivam. He said the success of smaller countries lay in the importance they attach to the global standards of the agricultural products.
“Our efforts have helped increase our spices output but we need to double our installed capacity for storage facilities so that value-addition also becomes easier. Most importantly, let’s ensure that ordinary farmers get knowledge about value-addition and access to the technologies used in agriculture in conformity with global standards,” he stressed.
The Governor also suggested that committees like CCSCH should interact more often with farmers to create awareness about global standards. “Kerala has suffered a production loss of more than 25,000 tonne of spices valued at `1,254 crore in recent floods. This session’s plan to deliberate draft standards for cardamom and turmeric is truly laudable since they are among the crops that dominate the spices cultivation in Kerala,” he added.
While addressing the gathering via video conferencing, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu said with the implementation of agriculture export policy, importance has been given to promotion of organic spices’ exports. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India chairperson Rita Teaotia, Spices Board secretary M K Shanmuga Sundaram, Ministry of Commerce and Industry director (plantations) M Saravanan were present.
