Increasing Income of Smallholders in India with Responsible Value Chain for Organic Spices

Smallholder farmers in the spice supply chain in Northeast India receive lower than living income from farming, and are not able to sustain their livelihoods from farming, which is identified as the most critical social sustainability issue.

The project is covering organic spice value chain with focus on fresh ginger and Lakadong turmeric powder. While farming spices has the potential to increase the income of farmers in Northeast India, in the status quo there are issues in the supply chain which need addressing. The supply chain is long
and untransparent, with a large number of intermediaries, which possess challenges to meet quality and compliance requirements of buyers. This in-turn is hindering the income level of farmers, even though the non-compliance is not always their fault but arises from intermediate steps.
The partnership consists of Dutch companies active in the value chain, together with Dutch and local civil society organizations.

The Good Spice (TGS) is a Dutch brand selling spices from farmers of Northeast India direct to consumers in the Netherlands. Energy Food Ingredients (EFI) is one of the largest producers of ginger juice in Europe, and will buy organic certified fresh ginger from Northeast India at a premium price. aQysta, with its presence in the Netherlands and Assam, is a social enterprise supporting smallholder farmers to connect to premium markets. Jaintia Hills Development Society (JHDS) is the local NGO, with a strong on-the-ground presence building capacity of farmers. Fairfood is a Dutch NGO, who will work on providing transparency and traceability in the supply chain through their digital tools.

The main beneficiaries are smallholder farmers from Meghalaya and Assam states in India. The project aims to cover 1280 farmers in the region, with possibility to add additional farmers as the demand grows. This project will help farmers attain living income with a combination of better prices, short and direct supply chain with traceable, reliable supply and organic certification.