From Saurav Bora
GUWAHATI: Come November, organic green ginger cultivated in Meghalaya will find its way to markets in Europe.
Assam-based organisation Lauhitya Livelihood Pvt Ltd has collaborated with the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority to train farmers across three districts of the state to grow green ginger suitable for export markets and help them realise better prices.
“A leading Belgian retailer in fresh vegetables and spices has expressed interest in buying the bigger and less-fibrous Nadia variety of ginger produced in Meghalaya. In this regard, a team from the European company will visit our facilities in Assam and Meghalaya by the end of this month for product verification,” Manash Chaliha, managing director of Lauhitya Livelihood told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
The Belgian company has engaged Organic Majuli, the primary brand of Lauhitya, in a supply contract for 52 containers (20 tonnes each) of green ginger throughout the year with a shipment of one container every week.
“The first shipment is expected to start in November. As of now, we cannot disclose the name of the Belgian company, which used to earlier source the spice from China,” Chaliha said.
The entrepreneur said around 1,000 farmers in Ri-Bhoi, West Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills have so far been trained in Organic Majuli’s farm at Khetri.
“There have been instances of farmers losing interest for lack of follow-up after undergoing training programmes organised by government departments. We try to plug this gap and help them add value to products for the export market,” he said.
Organic Majuli has already provided samples of green ginger to the Belgian retailer.
“A brief description of the process from harvesting to packaging of the products will also be provided to the client,” Chaliha said.
Green ginger is cultivated during December and March.
The exportable variety is sold for Rs 35 per kg in the market. “The price may however vary with demand-supply fluctuations,” he added.
“We have proposed to stock the required quantity for the lean period in cold storages which can be shipped throughout the year,” Chaliha said.
The firm has already supplied the variety to states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra besides exporting it to West Asian countries.
One of the fastest growing organic farming companies since 2014, Organic Majuli specialises in spices, crops and vegetables in Assam and Meghalaya.
Lakadong ginger
As it is, farmers from Laskein block in West Jaintia Hills have since 2016 been undergoing training in Lakadong turmeric cultivation at the firm’s Khetri facility.
“Lakadong turmeric grown in Jaintia Hills is of the best quality and with a high curcumin range of around seven per cent, is the most sought after. We have trained around 1000 more farmers in organic methods and nursery management,” he said.
Lakadong turmeric is currently sold at Rs 160 per kg. The firm has already sold Rs 20 lakh value of Lakadong turmeric to southern Indian buyers.
Curcumin is sold as a herbal supplement, cosmetics ingredient and for food flavouring/colouring.
“Our aim is to sell Rs 1crore value of turmeric in the next couple of months. Next year, we plan to set up our own curcumin unit at Byrnihat,” he said.