The first consignment of freshly packed King Chillies sourced from Peren was flagged off on July 28 for export from Nagaland to London. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@PiyushGoyal)
Morung Express news
Kohima | July 28
In a first for the State, Nagaland's first agriculture crop to have GI (Geographical Indicator) registration, Naga King Chilli also known as Raja Mircha is being exported to international markets.
The first consignment containing 300 Kilograms of freshly packed King Chillies for export from Nagaland to London was flagged off during a formal ceremony organized online by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Government of Nagaland and facilitated by the Nagaland State Agriculture Marketing Board (NSAMB) on July 28.
The King Chillies which are being sourced from Peren district is the first consignment to be exported to London. The export is being facilitated by APEDA and marketed by Kiega Exim Pvt Ltd, Guwahati
The Naga King Chilli is among the world’s hottest chillies and is preferred by many for its aroma and flavor. It is the State’s first agriculture crop to have GI (Geographical Indicator) registration in August 2008.
APC and Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, Y Kikheto Sema, delivering a special address commented that the landmark event gives opportunity for the whole state to be called an ‘agro-chemical-free state’ given the diverse “bio-diversity and suitable agro-climatic condition for growing wide range of crops from tropical dragon fruits to sub-tropical pineapples and temperate fruits like kiwi” and making it organic by default.
Today’s flag off event on export of first consignment of Raja Mircha to the European market is a historic day for the farming community of the State, Kikheto said.
“This event will increase awareness, making connections and working with business. This export journey would help many farmers to change their economy, even as the government is ready to help, support and connect to create wealth,” he added.
Citing that at present, about 70% is under shifting cultivation without chemical use, the traditional practices of jhum cultivation have however been found to be not economically viable or ecologically sustainable, the APC said.
He also stated that for the sustainability of the farmers, few export potential crops such as Naga King Chilli (Raja Mircha), pineapple, tree tomato, kiwi, bamboo shoot, Naga cucumber, passion fruits, rajma (kholar), etc have been identified as niche and premium crops and targeted accordingly.
“Most importantly, creation of markets for these niche crops is being emphasized,” for further widening the cluster areas, especially along the foothills of the State to overcome the transportation issues thereby fetching a remunerative price, he added.
While speaking of Coffee exports, he stated that Nagaland had earlier exported Coffee to South Africa in 2017-2018, promoted and managed by Land Resources Department and it is graded to be one of the best coffees.
At present, coffee cultivation in Nagaland stands at 10,000 Ha of cultivated area and 30,000 Ha by 2030 is being targeted, in order to establish Nagaland coffee on the coffee map of the World.
NSAMB CEO, Ikuto Zhimomi told media persons in Dimapur that NSAMB with the support of APEDA had taken initiative to undertake export of Naga King Chillies to London for the first time. He thanked the APEDA Guwahati Regional Office for their support and linking the farmers in the State for their production. He also said that the State would be exporting pineapples internationally in the coming years.
He informed that the laboratory test conducted by the Delhi Test House on Naga organic King Chilli qualified the chillies for the European market and that no agro chemicals were found in them.
