Cardamom, famous for its warm, pungent and sweetly aromatic flavor, has been one of the most valuable spices on earth for centuries. Cultivating this frail crop comes with major challenges. Castor bean production in Kerala, India, where farmers face challenges such as high demand for labor and a lack of resilience to extreme weather. The global thirst for cardamom keeps growing. Solutions to these challenges are coming from surprising places that will help lift farmers like Stanley Pothan, who describes cardamom as the “toughest” crop to grow.
Pothan, a lifelong cardamom farmer with decades of experience and a lifetime of wisdom, knows this plant needs care every single day. “Cardamom is a very delicate plant – prone to diseases and pest attacks. You have to be constantly in the field, watching every leaf, every flower,” he states. Producing cardamom comes with tremendous hardship. It might take a farmer 10 or 12 years to understand what the plant wants.
Labor is a central factor in cardamom growing expenses. As the harvest season is nearly year-round, this is often 75% of Pothan’s costs. He notes that harvesting is a skilled practice. Women historically performed this task, intuitively knowing which capsules are ripe for the plucking. They can harvest few at a time – popping one or two off a cluster and coming back to the same plant after 45 days for the next cohort. That’s why it’s so labour-intensive,” Pothan explains.
Climate change and the resulting unpredictability of weather patterns is another danger lurking around the corner for cardamom farmers. “One bad summer or unexpected rain can wipe away the entire effort,” Pothan warns. Last year’s brutal summer resulted in significant crop losses for many farmers in Kerala, mirroring a broader trend seen in Guatemala, the world’s largest cardamom producer, where nearly 60% of the crop was lost during that season.
The Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI) is diligently working to alleviate the pressures farmers endure. Though the task is daunting, the work they’re doing is already having a tangible impact. The government-funded ICRI has created an innovative app. This tool gives farmers the ability to track their soil health and get tailored advice on the best cultivation practices to adopt. A.B. Rameshwari from ICRI states, “Our focus is on crop improvement, pest and disease surveillance, soil management, capacity building, and technology transfer related to cardamom.”
Mathews Geroge, who transitioned from a banking career to organic cardamom farming, highlights the potential for organic methods to compete with traditional farming practices. Geroge recalls his initial hesitations: “When I first spoke to scientists at the Cardamom Research Institute, they discouraged me. “With cardamom, they told us that it is too sensitive and too hard to grow it organically.” He stands by his on-the-ground, organic methods.
He thinks the key to sustainable farming is reducing the cost of inputs. What’s more, many farmers themselves tend to misconstrue organic farming as just being high-cost by nature. “If you make your own inputs and understand your soil, you can actually earn better with less dependence on chemicals,” George asserts.
Though mechanization in Indian cardamom farming is not easy, given the crop’s specific requirements, potential for technological innovation still exists. George emphasizes how machinery can assist with spraying and de-weeding, conserving labor. He’s quick to note that key processes like pruning and harvesting remain a heavy lift for automation. “Every innovator who visits our farm looks at cardamom and says ‘we’ll solve this.’ Nothing concrete has come out yet,” he notes.
In light of climate challenges and the impact of some traditional cultivation methods, farmers are feeling hopeful as they look towards the future of cardamom farming. Pothan acknowledges the complexities but reflects on his growth as a farmer: “Even today, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered cardamom farming. It’s still a challenge. Some seasons are good, some aren’t. Now I understand the rhythm of the crop – when to act, when to wait, when to let nature do its job.”