Dar es Salaam. Cardamom is among the spice crops which are traded at
inordinately high prices both locally and internationally, - and, if they are cultivated in large quantities, they would boost farmers’ earnings, thus playing a major role in poverty reduction.This was said by experts in Tanga Region during a recent journalists visit organised by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (Jet) with Usaid funding.
The export prices published by the Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) for January 2022 show cardamom exported to India through the Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) attracted $19,500 (Sh44.9 million) per tonne.
Vanilla exports to Madagascar fetched $263,070 (Sh605.1 million) per tonne, while cloves exported to Comoro under the Free on Board (FOB) were traded at $10,120 (Sh23.3 million) per tonne. Coriander exported to South Africa under the FOB attracted $1,400 (Sh3.2 million) per tonne.
In Temeke, Buguruni, Mabibo and Ilala markets in Dar es Salaam, the retail and wholesale prices in January 2022 - according to Tantrade - ranged from Sh18,000 to Sh20,000 and Sh21,000 to Sh22,000 respectively per kilo.
The Tridge website outlines export markets of Tanzania cardamom and their respective percentages in brackets as follows: United Kingdom (38.31 percent), Germany (18.64 percent), Turkey (9.39 percent) and Egypt (8.86 percent). The remaining 34.8 percent is shared between Pakistan, the Netherlands, Austria, Israel, India and France.
Explaining the economic importance of cardamom farming to journalists, Muheza District agriculture expert, Mr Adam Nyenza, said people should tap the opportunity and actively engage in cardamom production.
“Cardamom sells at Sh24,000 to Sh26,000 per kilo, which is a huge amount. This amount can significantly support living and help reduce poverty,” Nyenza told the visiting journalists.
He said a one hectare farm can produce 500 to 600 kilogrammes, hinting that the locally produced crop is the best compared to that produced in other countries.
Mr Nyenza said in the region, the crop reaches its production peak seven years after planting and that production declines around 13 to 15 years.
According to him, green cardamom is the most valuable globally, noting that farmers are now being mobilised to increase production of the variety.
A green cardamom farmer from Magoroto village in Muheza District, Mr Mohamed Jumanne, said environmental conservation enables farmers to increase production.
“Awareness campaigns spearheaded by district authorities have reduced environmental destruction, therefore creating a conducive environment for cardamom to thrive.”
In Tanzania, cardamom thrives in Morogoro, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions.
According to the 2014, Spices sub-Sector Strategy, the East Usambaras produced 760 tonnes of cardamom per annum by the 1970s, which is equal to 20 percent of the total world production.
This made Tanzania the third largest producer after India and Guatemala. Production stagnated at 756 tonnes in 2012, before declining to 165 tonnes in 2013.
Further reports show that cardamom yields in India also declined due to forest exploitation and a longer dry season, which is apparently the case in Tanzania.
“Thus, authors of the strategy suggest that expansion in crop cultivation in Tanzania should go hand in hand with tree planting and climate change mitigation technologies,” reads the document.
Cardamom cultivation is mostly practiced in the forest after completely clearing the understory and middle layers, and selectively thinning the tree canopy.
This practice is considered by conservationists as threatening to the endemic species within the forests, states the document.
“Thus the current trend is to prohibit cultivation in the natural forests, although these are the most favourable production environments for cardamom,” the document reads in part.
The document lists hindrances for cardamom production as poor agronomic practices; lack of soil fertility improvement program; absence of thinning and trashing; poor planting practices; harvesting methods and harvesting by striping the whole panicle.
The document suggests different solutions that include establishing demonstration plots in each village and involving farmers to appreciate yields and quality differences between well and poorly managed plots.
Training and motivating farmers on proper purposeful planting and training farmers on the importance of selective harvesting at the proper maturity stage and yielding the quality produce, are among measures mentioned in the document.
Varieties
There are two major varieties of cardamom, which are; malabar and mysore. Malabar is usually three metres tall, and produces small size fruits. This variety grows horizontally along the ground.
Mysore is a cardamom variety over three metres high and that has broad leaves, usually bearing fruits. This one grows vertically upwards.
Weather
Cardamoms are cultivated in areas with an annual rainfall average of 2500mm with experts recommending that farms should have moderate shading.
According to agricultural experts, soil should have enough fertility and moisture content.
Cultivation
Cardamom can be grown through seeds germination or seedlings transplanted from nurseries after attaining the age of three to four months.
Care
Shading should be modified through thinning and trashing for increased productivity.
Pests and diseases
Pests and diseases such as leaf rotting and mosaic should be well controlled through the application of dithane m-45.
Harvests
Harvesting of cardamom takes between three and five years. Cardamom fruits that are harvested between March and April could provide farmers with an average of 45 kilos to 120 kilos of dried spices per acre.
Cardamoms are harvested by stripping the pods from the flower panicles and when hired labour is employed, harvesting is done by stripping the whole panicles containing pods at different levels of maturity.
The practice facilitates fast harvesting but compromises the quality of the final produce.
Like cinnamon, harvested pods are dried in an open sun on various recipients including bare ground.
Drying by flue curing to produce green cardamom is not practiced and packaging is also done using polyvinyl sacks.
Uses
Cardamom is used as a spice in food, as an ingredient in oil and cosmetics, in drinks production and in the manufacturing of bites.
Regarding advantages, farmers and users say the spice is useful in facilitating the proper functioning of kidneys and regulation of the digestive system.
It is also used for treating heartburn and gas, treatment of urinary tract infections as well as kidney and urinary bladder complications.
Cardamom is also powerful in containing flu infection and cough as well as providing relief from joint pains.
Postharvest handling
Postharvest operations consist of washing, curing (drying), cleaning, polishing, sorting, grading and packing.
Sometimes after harvesting, pods are treated with two percent washing soda (sodium carbonate) for 10 minutes to stabilise chlorophyll and impart better green colour.
It is important to dry cardamom capsules soon after harvest so as to prevent loss of flavour.
It is also important that the drying process is as short as possible so that mold does not grow on the capsules and the bright green colour is retained.
There are several ways of drying the fruit to reduce moisture content from about 75 percent at harvest to 13 percent for safe storage.
These include sun-drying, solar drying, wood-fired drying, electric/gas drying and humidity controlled drying.
In sun-drying cardamom pods are spread on a concrete floor to dry using the natural heat from the sun, whereas in solar drying the pods are placed in a special dryer, out of direct sunlight.
Wood-fired drying is the traditional method and typically requires a large amount of firewood to dry the pods.
The smoke from the fire can give the pods an unpleasant smoked flavour and may burn some of the cardamom.
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