Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsWhile an alarmingly deficient rainfall is poised to hit hard all agricultural crops and especially the highly sensitive cardamom,attempts from a few quarters including the Spices Board to play down the gravity of the issue by maintaining that only 5-10 % drop in production is expected,has drawn flak from the growers. The Vandanmedu Cardamom Grower’s Association has brought the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recently and also sought his intervention to establish an office of the director, exclusively for the cardamom sector. The growers were of the view that the current spell of drought amid a weak southwest monsoon resulted in 75 % deficiency in rainfall in the cardamom belt in the high ranges, whereas the average loss in rainfall in the entire state was above 40 %. The normal harvesting time of cardamom begins from July end.But this year,the crop could be harnessed only in October-November. Usually,there are 6-7 harvests in a year for cardamom.But it will not be more than three this time.K S Mathew, president, Vandanmedu Cardamom Grower’s Association pointed out that a minimum 50 % drop in cardamom production was expected going by the change in the pattern of the rainfall. “The Spices Board which is duty bound to monitor the cardamom sector has no specific data on the level of production or the extent of land under cultivation. What the Board has with it in exact terms is only the quantity of the produce auctioned. But then,it is the quantity twice the actual production,since traders are re-pooling cardamom at auction centres many times,” he said. The Association charged that the cardamom traders were leading a campaign that production fall would be negligible and the Spices Board had aped it. Only a person who has not visited the cardamom grown belt in Idukki in the past six months could state that there will not be any substantial dip in production. Those authorities who are expected to end the exploitation of farmers by middlemen, at least during this hour of crisis, are seen joining hands with the trader’s lobby.No tangible steps have come from the side of the Spices Board on the long standing demand of farmers to ensure competitive trading by ending the monopoly though the Board Chairman has assured that producers will be linked to importing countries, the CM was told. “To ensure the promotion of cardamom cultivation and to end the exploitation of middlemen, a director should deal it exclusively,” the Association demanded.The Chief Minister said that the issues highlighted would be dealt positively and at the earliest.first published:August 13, 2012, 11:56 ISTlast updated:August 13, 2012, 11:56 IST
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While an alarmingly deficient rainfall is poised to hit hard all agricultural crops and especially the highly sensitive cardamom,attempts from a few quarters including the Spices Board to play down the gravity of the issue by maintaining that only 5-10 % drop in production is expected,has drawn flak from the growers. The Vandanmedu Cardamom Grower’s Association has brought the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recently and also sought his intervention to establish an office of the director, exclusively for the cardamom sector. The growers were of the view that the current spell of drought amid a weak southwest monsoon resulted in 75 % deficiency in rainfall in the cardamom belt in the high ranges, whereas the average loss in rainfall in the entire state was above 40 %.
The normal harvesting time of cardamom begins from July end.But this year,the crop could be harnessed only in October-November. Usually,there are 6-7 harvests in a year for cardamom.But it will not be more than three this time.
K S Mathew, president, Vandanmedu Cardamom Grower’s Association pointed out that a minimum 50 % drop in cardamom production was expected going by the change in the pattern of the rainfall. “The Spices Board which is duty bound to monitor the cardamom sector has no specific data on the level of production or the extent of land under cultivation. What the Board has with it in exact terms is only the quantity of the produce auctioned. But then,it is the quantity twice the actual production,since traders are re-pooling cardamom at auction centres many times,” he said. The Association charged that the cardamom traders were leading a campaign that production fall would be negligible and the Spices Board had aped it. Only a person who has not visited the cardamom grown belt in Idukki in the past six months could state that there will not be any substantial dip in production. Those authorities who are expected to end the exploitation of farmers by middlemen, at least during this hour of crisis, are seen joining hands with the trader’s lobby.No tangible steps have come from the side of the Spices Board on the long standing demand of farmers to ensure competitive trading by ending the monopoly though the Board Chairman has assured that producers will be linked to importing countries, the CM was told. “To ensure the promotion of cardamom cultivation and to end the exploitation of middlemen, a director should deal it exclusively,” the Association demanded.The Chief Minister said that the issues highlighted would be dealt positively and at the earliest.
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