Centre to offer special funds for crop re-plantation: Ramesh

Kochi, Jun 8 (UNI) With low productivity of senile plants adding to global competition, the Centre today announced the creation of special purpose funds to support re-plantation of pepper, cardamom and rubber, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh today said.

Speaking to newsmen here at the end of a three-day visit to the state, Mr Ramesh a Rs 370 crore fund would be in place for pepper re-plantation with 68,000 of the two lakh hectare needing replantation in Kerala alone in the next five years.

Similarly, special purpose funds for rubber and cardomom re-plantation were in the process of being set up in collaboration with the state government, NABARD and National Horticultural Mission.

Mr Ramesh said electronic auction for chillies and cardamom will be introduced by November and next year respectively.

The ongoing WTO-compatible scheme of providing subsidy to pepper will continue till the target of 20,000 tonne was achieved. Under the scheme, so far subsidy was granted only for 4,000 tonne.

Ruling out any ban on export of natural rubber and affirming it would remain in the negative list for all trade agreements, he said its cultivation would be extended to North Eastern States of Tripura and Assam, besides Karnataka.

A two-member committee had been set up to formulate a scheme to utitise the Rs 500 crore price stabilisation trust fund with crop insurance for pepper, cardamom, tea and rubber.

The Minister assured to take steps to control the smuggling of cardamom from Quatemala through Nepal, which hit the prices.

An integrated pest management system will be implemented to cover chilli cultivation on 5,000 hectare as a step towards organic farming.

''We are taking agressive steps for marketing all the spicces.The West Asia, especially the Saudi Arabia, has been identified as a thrust market for cardamom.

''We will hold a India Spices Meet in October in Dubai and later in Japan,'' he said adding advice of a professional agency was sought to improve the domestic market.

''India is fast turing into a spices processing hub as many foreign countries are outsourcing work to states like Kerala,'' he said.

On Vanilla crisis, he said a meeting would be called in July to discuss the measures to save the farmers, including use of natural vanilla in ice cream.

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