Forest department will soon begin collecting organic cardamom from Edamalakkudy farmers
The Hindu
The entire project aims at ensuring proper livelihood and income to the tribespeople in Edmalakkudy,
The entire project aims at ensuring proper livelihood and income to the tribespeople in Edmalakkudy, the department also has plans to procure organic certification for the cardamom grown in the tribal panchayat
The Forest department will soon begin to collect organic cardamom produced at Edamalakkudy, the first tribal panchayat in the State, and market it as a separate brand.
According to officials, over 80% of tribal people in Edmalakkudy are engaged in cardamom farming.
Munnar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Raju Francis says the Forest department will collect cardamom from the tribal people and pay them for their produce directly. Presently, the farmers are selling their produce through Forest Development Agency (FDA) and also through middlemen. The department will change the collected green cardamom to dried cardamom and market it through the Forest department shops, Mr. Francis says.
A cardamom dryer unit has also been established in Munnar with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The new dryer unit will be functional within one week. “Now, the farmers use old practices to dry the cardamom or sell it as green cardamom to middlemen at Adimali, says UNDP conservation project officer Rameshan M. The drying unit has been set up at Devikulam and will use Eucalyptus wood as fuel.
The entire project aims at ensuring proper livelihood and income to the tribespeople in Edmalakkudy, according to officials. “With the Forest department marketing it as a special product, the farmers will get proper income and market exposure,” says Dr Rameshan.
The department also had plans to procure organic certification for Edamalakkudy cardamom. According to senior Forest department officials, the cardamom farmers in Edamalakkudy face exploitation from middlemen. “ The cardamom from the tribal hamlet has no proper size and colour. The new branding will ensure proper market and price to the tribal produce,” says the official. The department will collect the cardamom from other tribal hamlets under the Munnar forest division.
