India achieved a major milestone in export of spices valued at Rs 31,761.38 crore or more than US$4 billion in 2022-23, with chilli export at Rs 10,446 crore and cumin at Rs 4,193 crore - both making an all-time high and accounting for half of total export of spices from the country in 2022-23.
Chilli and cumin are the crown of spices being produced in India by smallholder farmers who toil and sweat, day and night to deal with rapidly changing pest dynamics and abrupt aberration in weather induced by climate change - while invasive pest Black thrips has been a nightmare for chilli farmers. The South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC)- a not-for-profit scientific society - noted that cumin farmers have been suffering from the high intensity of parthenogenetic in reproduction of sucking pest aphid, hot Western wind and untimely hailstorm and precipitation in last two seasons.
Despite such incidences during production system, the resilience of farmers and timely interventions perpetuated with the help of biotechkisan in cumin growing areas of Western Rajasthan and Operation Nalla Tamara Purugu in chilli growing areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana implemented by South Asia Biotechnology Centre helped farmers to produce quality chilli and cumin, boosting the prospects for market and spices economy in India.
Talking to RURAL VOICE, Bhagirath Choudhary, Founder Director of SABC, said: "Transboundary influx of invasive pests has become a routine matter for India’s Quarantine authority, it is a great cause of concerns to our smallholder and food security. This time, hundreds of thousands of chilli famers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are grappling with devastating invasive Black thrips (Thrips parvispinus) in the last two consecutive seasons. Meanwhile black thrips has travelled to chilli growing area of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra."
He said that becoming a dominant pest of chilli, farmers cannot be left on the mercy of naysayer and trade to manage devastating invasive Black thrips of such a magnitude compelling farmer to increase pesticide sprays by 28 per cent, increase frequency of pesticide sprays and mounting cost of cultivation.
"The situation seems to darker in the absence of an adhoc approval of effective pesticide and standardisation of harmonised Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package of practice and protocol for multiple control measures based on localised research and field evidence on invasive Black thrips," Choudhary said.
He said the Government of India through the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) must expedite approval of effective pesticides and implement mega farmers awareness program on IPM to curtail indiscriminate applications of pesticides which can contaminate exportable chilli.
Choudhary said the South Asia Biotechnology Centre is implementing a mega project “Operation Nalla Tamara Purugu”, working closely with farmers, sensitising them about Black thrips, its life cycle, damage symptoms and control measures for last two seasons.