As a part of FAO’s project on ‘Strengthening Spices Value Chain in India’, a stakeholder consultation workshop was organized in collaboration with Spices Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), supported by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on 24 Feb 2023 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The session included remarks by Shri D Sathiyan, IFS, Secretary, Spices Board; Dr Konda Reddy Chavva, Officer-In-Charge, FAO representation in India; Mr. Pablo Jakins, Economic Affairs Officer, STDF Secretariat; Dr Sridhar Dharmapuri, Senior Food Safety and Nutrition Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; and Dr Naveen Patle, Additional Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Delhi. The programme witnessed the participation of over 60 people from various institutions including farmers from the project villages.

The key takeaways from the workshop are: i) focus on quality improvement and value addition at different stages of the spices supply chain, ii) use of modern technologies in production, processing, digitisation and traceability solutions, iii) generate data to establish label claims and practical maximum residue levels (MRLs) for chemicals used in spices, and iv) support farmers in collective production and linkage with buyers.