In a major step towards agricultural sustainability and self-reliance in high-value spice production, the Department of Agriculture under the Andaman & Nicobar Administration has officially launched the SPICE PRAVAH initiative—Spice Promotion by Integrated Cultivation & Enhancement – Promotion of Resilient Aromatic Value Chains & Holistic Farming. The campaign was inaugurated at the Organic Horticulture Farm in Sippighat, where Chief Secretary Dr Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS, led a symbolic cinnamon plantation, joined by senior officials, scientists, PRI members, and farmers.

SPICE PRAVAH is designed as a flagship programme to catalyse the cultivation, post-harvest value addition, and commercial integration of tree-based spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. The initiative is strategically timed to transform the agro-economic landscape of the Islands by leveraging their unique climate for high-value aromatic crops, while also creating livelihood opportunities, encouraging self-help group participation, and advancing rural entrepreneurship.

The campaign commenced simultaneously across all eight agricultural zones of the Union Territory. In the first phase, 78,160 saplings were distributed and planted over 40 hectares of farmland owned by progressive farmers. A second round is scheduled to follow within the next quarter, adding another 25 hectares through the plantation of 47,400 saplings in departmental farms. These activities were conducted in parallel by respective Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners in districts such as Car Nicobar, Diglipur, Rangat, Campbell Bay, and Little Andaman, ensuring widespread geographical participation and grassroots involvement.

The SPICE PRAVAH programme adopts a value chain-centric model, integrating production, processing, and market access. It places strong emphasis on scientific capacity-building and technology transfer. A core implementation team has already undergone intensive training at the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Kozhikode. A live demonstration of cinnamon bark extraction using the newly developed CinnRub tool by ICAR-CIARI was conducted during the launch, underscoring the initiative’s focus on farmer-friendly mechanization and product innovation.

The initiative also promotes intercropping tree spices with coconut, enhancing land productivity and income potential for smallholders. It encourages active engagement of Self Help Groups to strengthen decentralized value chains, ensuring that local communities play a central role in production, processing, and marketing. Branding and GI tagging of island-grown spices are being explored as a means to build distinct regional identity in domestic and export markets, especially for cinnamon and nutmeg.

The campaign is anchored by the Department of Agriculture under the leadership of Director Priyanka Kumari. Senior officials including Commissioner-cum-Secretaries Chanchal Yadav and Dr. Sachin Shinde, Secretary (Agriculture) Pallavi Sarkar, Secretary (Fisheries), Jyoti Kumari, and ICAR-CIARI Director Dr. E. B. Chakurkar were present at the Sippighat event. The campaign’s branding tagline, “Sugandh Vrikshon ki Pravah – Advancement through Spice Cultivation,” reflects its ambition to position spice cultivation not merely as a production goal, but as a transformative rural development agenda.

The SPICE PRAVAH movement is being implemented through a unified plantation calendar, with a six-month review scheduled to assess plantation survival, inter-departmental coordination, market uptake, and participation from Panchayati Raj Institutions and farmer groups. The programme aims to establish eight Spice Collection Centres across the Islands, aligned with each agro-zone, to serve as local hubs for post-harvest processing and value-added product development.

By integrating horticultural diversification, sustainable land use, skill development, and community ownership, SPICE PRAVAH has laid the foundation for a resilient, market-linked, and ecologically sound spice economy. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, through this initiative, seek to evolve as a national leader in tree-based spice cultivation, shifting from subsistence to high-value agribusiness, and turning underutilized tropical landscapes into vibrant aromatic corridors.