Talia jude
MOHITH GEORGE
Gloria Shibu George
Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies
Timothy Palmer
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Nedspice is a privately owned firm which mainly focuses on processing of herbs, spices and dehydrated vegetables. The main processes include sterilization, grinding and distribution of single spices and herbs such as black pepper, ginger , turmeric, nutmeg , cumin, cinnamon , basil , parsley etc. The improper use of plant pesticides and chemical fertilizers is an important sustainability issue in the production of spices. Due to lack of understanding at farm level and inefficient control methods by the government, it is turning out to be a cause for wide spread diseases. Nedspice is in partnership with Sustainability Spices Initiative which is in cooperation with Rainforest Alliance which works to define a standard for sustainability in spices.
Implementation happens at two levels in Nedspice; one at farm level and another at factory level. In case of farm level Nedspice works with farmers to educate them and guide them to use high quality seeds which can generate a better quality of yield. They have a quality management system to harness good quality seeds and thus make better income. Also, they test the ground water, surface water and soil quality and recommend fertilizers accordingly in order to obtain the best quality of spices and other herbs.
One of the crucial challenges Nedspice faces to implement sustainability is to educate farmers and make them understand the need and use of sustainable farming practices, as most of them stick to the conventional farming methods which involves the use of chemical fertilizers and plant pesticides.
The second challenge which they encounter is the rapid change in climatic conditions as in some cases use of bio products may not be efficient to maintain a continuous supply of spices so they have to continuously visit and work with farmers in order to keep a steady supply.
Nedspice has launched a mobile app which can track the growth of seeds, keep a record, check the current weather condition, etc. based on the GPS location. This enables the farmers and Nedspice executives to interact better and maintain a better relation. Nedspice is also coming up with various IOT projects which will reduce the tedious labour involvement in agriculture.
Nedspice innovation by interacting with the farmers and educating them has given a positive impact to increase people’s awareness about sustainable farming practices. This has also helped Nedspice to focus on conservation of biodiversity and proper waste management techniques, thus evolving to a sustainable farming environment.
Nedspice sells their products at a premium price as their products are sustainably certified. This increases the demand and people who are socially committed prefer to buy their products.
Nedspice ensures that no child labour is happening within the farms and factories, no child below the age of 18 are allowed to work in farms and factories and they also educate the farmers regarding this. Nedspice makes sure that no gender discrimination happens at work and men and women are treated equally and are provided wages without any discrimination.
In the case of the factory, they call it a "green" factory as power generation does not require the use of any kind of fossil fuel.
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Ganapathi K. D, Sustainability Projects Head
Nedspice is a privately owned firm which mainly focuses on processing of herbs, spices and dehydrated vegetables. The main processes include sterilization, grinding and distribution of single spices and herbs such as black pepper, ginger , turmeric, nutmeg , cumin, cinnamon , basil , parsley etc.