The Hindu : Business : ITC to develop spices in north-east

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Friday, Oct 26, 2007
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ITC to develop spices in north-east

Special Correspondent

Signs MoU with Nagaland Goverment

KOLKATA: ITC Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nagaland Government and the Spices Board for the development of the ‘Naga chilli’. This will be done through a host of initiatives, including crop development programmes to improve quality and deployment of customised infrastructure and market development services.

A tripartite MoU has been signed in this regard, involving the Spices Board Chairman, the Chief Executive of ITC’s ILTD (Indian Leaf Tobacco Division) and the Commissioner and Secretary, department of horticulture, government of Nagaland. The MoU is the first step in developing the north-east into the hub or organic spices in India. ITC Chairman Y. C. Deveshwar and Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh were also present on the occasion.

An ITC release said that this was a unique public-private-partnership model under which the company’s expertise in agri-development was being extended to the north-east.

The implementation will be through partner NGOs who in turn will mobilise self-help groups to collect the produce from growers. ITC will procure the spices produced under the programme, developing domestic and export markets as the scale of the project and its scope increases.

All these activities will be undertaken in close co-ordination with the State government and the Spices Board.

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