Lok Sabha Question No. 363 (STARRED), answered on 2019-01-07
Subject: Special Package for Spice Growers
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 363 TO BE ANSWERED ON  07 th  JANUARY, 2019

## SPECIAL PACKAGE FOR SPICE GROWERS

## *363. ADV. JOICE GEORGE:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वा ͨणÏय एवं उɮयोग मंğी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  planning  for  any  special  package  for  spice  growers, especially cardamom, pepper etc. as flood in Kerala has badly hit the growers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has assessed the quantum of damages after the floods and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has noticed that due to such crop loss, growers are in deep trouble; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to revive the sector?

## ANSWER

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THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI SURESH PRABHU)

- a) to  e):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 363   FOR ANSWER ON 07 th  JANUARY, 2019 REGARDING 'SPECIAL PACKAGE FOR SPICE GROWERS'.

(a) to (e): The details of crop / plant loss of spice growers assessed in the state of Kerala are as under:

| Crop             |   Affected Area (Ha.) |   Estimated Loss of Production 2018-19 (MT) |
|------------------|-----------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| Cardamom (small) |               17707.1 |                                     8459.37 |
| Black Pepper     |               26614   |                                    10700    |
| Nutmeg           |                4403   |                                     2749    |
| Clove            |                 181   |                                       13    |
| Ginger           |                1030   |                                     4100    |
| Turmeric         |                 396   |                                      976    |
| Total            |               50331.1 |                                    26997.4  |

Source: Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. Spices Board (for Small Cardomam)

To support the affected growers of Kerala, the following are some of the key measures taken by the Government of India:

- (i) Government  has  approved  the  Spices  Board  proposal  for  undertaking  re-plantation  of  and production  of  quality  planting  materials  for  small  cardamom  in  the  flood  affected  areas  of Kerala during the on-going Medium Term Framework (MTF) period of 2018-19 and 2019-20, with an allocation of Rs.17.07 Crore.
- (ii) In response to the memoranda received from the Government of Kerala in light of floods / landslides  in  2018,  Inter-Ministerial  Teams  were  deputed  to  the  State  for  an  on  the  spot assessment of the situation. As per the report of the team, agriculture/horticulture crops in an area  of  about  94,699 Ha  was  affected  to  an  extent  exceeding  33%.  In  conformity  with  the procedure for release of funds from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) / National Disaster Response  Fund  (NDRF),  an  amount  of  Rs.121.94  Crore  has  been  approved  for  relief  to affected farmers with up to 2 Ha holdings for damaged agriculture / horticulture crops.
- (iii) Under  the  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH),  an  additional allocation  of  Rs.93.39  Crore  with  Rs.56.03  Crore  as  Government  of  India  share  has  been approved for 2018-19, to mitigate the calamitous impact of the floods.

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