JOIN USIPC calls for new measures to pep up pepper economy
Faced with an array of emerging challenges, the International Pepper Community conclave called for setting up new targets for production, export and ensuring remunerative prices to the growers.
The three-day 43rd annual session of the International Pepper Community (IPC), which was inaugurated here on Monday, made a strong pitch for rolling out a credible roadmap to improve quality, promote mechanisation of pepper processing and sustainable cultivation of the spice that flavours kitchens across the globe and forms an important ingredient of traditional wellness systems. The conclave called for innovative measures to ramp up the pepper economy.
Set up in 1972 by the UNESCAP, the Jakarta-headquartered IPC is an inter-governmental body of major pepper producing countries with a mandate to promote, coordinate and harmonise all activities relating to the pepper economy.
In his keynote address, MP Pratap Simha said, Karnataka had emerged as a leading pepper producing State in India, accounting for over 50 per cent of the production.
“Also, Karnataka has bagged the IPC award for the best pepper farmer in the last three years. Some pepper farmers in Karnataka have achieved more than 10-tonne productivity per hectare,” he noted.
He urged the Central government to support pepper farmers through a special scheme for replanting and fresh planting in Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts and ensure higher rates of subsidy to incentivise more farmers to take up pepper cultivation.
IPC Executive Director W D L Gunarathne said pepper producers were currently enjoying the best times with a record production this year, but they should be ready to face new challenges in the future. “Technology is one area to which adequate attention should be paid. But technologies come with a high price and there is a need for it to be shared by member-countries of the IPC,” he said.
Around 250 delegates from the IPC member countries — Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam — attended the convention to deliberate on recent advancements in the pepper cultivation, production, proces- sing, marketing, quality improvement, research and development as well as trade promotion.
India, currently holds the chair of the IPC, which rotates among its full-time members every year. India, Indonesia and Malaysia are the founder members of the IPC. Papua New Guinea is an associate member, while China, Cambodia, Madagascar and Micronesia are expected to join the community soon.
IPC Chairman A Jayathilak, Additional Secretary for Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry Rajani Ranjan Rashmi, and Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam, Tarn Thanh Nom were present on the occasion.