KOTA (RAJSATHAN):
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate a sprawling Spices Park at Ramganj Mandi, Asia’s largest market for seed spices, here on Saturday (July 14), which is expected to give a major fillip to production and processing of seed spices not only in Rajasthan but also in the entire western region of the country.
The Spices Park, developed by Spices Board, has come up on 30 acres of land which was allotted to the Board by the Rajasthan government and is designed to facilitate for providing warehousing, processing and value addition of seed spices, especially coriander and cumin.
The launch would be attended by a host of dignitaries, including C R Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; Dr. Prabhu Lal Saini, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Govt. of Rajasthan; Om Birla, Member of Parliament, Kota; Chandrakanta Meghwal, MLA, Ramganj Mandi; and P M Suresh Kumar, Director, Spices Board.
Further, the other MLAs of Kota district — Vidyashankar Nandwana, Prahlad Gunjal, Bhawani Singh Rajawat, Heeralal Nagar, and Sandeep Sharma — and Hemalata Sharma, Chairman, Nagarpalika, Ramganj Mandi and Bhagwan Singh Dhakar, Pradhan, Panchayat Samiti, Khairabad, will also attend.
Spices Board Chairman Subhash Vasu said the Spices Park in Kota would give a great boost to spices farmers and entrepreneurs in Rajasthan. “The state is one of the leading producers of seed spices in the country and it contributes around 35% of India’s total seed spices production. It consists of all the major seed spices like coriander, cumin, fennel and fenugreek that are produced in good quantities. The facilities at the park will help in processing and value addition of seed spices.”
“The grower community can make use of these facilities for selling their produce directly to the exporters and thus avail the premium price for their produces. Exporters will also benefit by developing a direct link with the farming community for an uninterrupted supply of farm fresh raw material for their business,” Vasu said.
On becoming fully and commercially operational, the park is expected to add value to the spices produced in the area, encourage entrepreneurship, provide employment to the local community and bring better price realization to the farmers because of direct link with processors and exporters.
“This will ultimately turn Ramganj Mandi into the world hub of coriander marketing and processing,” Vasu pointed out. The park will provide land and infrastructure facilities to prospective entrepreneurs to set up their own spices processing units.
The park would also help in addressing the crucial challenges of meeting stringent quality and food safety requirements, he noted.
