Mountain Research and Development Vol 26 No 2 May 2006: 131–137

Teija Reyes, Olavi Luukkanen, and Roberto Quiroz

Small Cardamom—Precious for People, Harmful for

Mountain Forests 131
Possibilities for Sustainable Cultivation in the East Usambaras, Tanzania

Small cardamom Europe to the Far East. At present, the largest

(Elettaria cardamo- producers of true cardamom are Guatemala and India,
mum) is a valuable and smaller producers include Tanzania, Sri Lanka,
source of income for Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Laos, and Vietnam.
numerous resource- Cheaper substitutes to real cardamom (Amomum spp.
poor farmers inhabit- and Aframomum spp.) are grown and used in some Asian
ing the East Usam- countries (Nair and Kutty 2004).
bara Mountains in
Tanzania. Notwith- India and Saudi Arabia consume more than half of
standing, the pri- the world’s total cardamom production. In Arab coun-
mary forests in tries and India, cardamom is a common flavoring ingre-
these mountains also have the highest ratio of endemic dient for coffee and tea. In Scandinavia, as well as in
flora and fauna per 100 km2 of all biodiversity hotspots Germany and Russia, it is used to flavor cakes, pastries,
in the world. Cardamom cultivation, under current grow- and sausages. It is popular in Indian and South Asian
ing practices, is radically changing the composition of cooking and used to make spice blends, such as curries
the forest, thus threatening the endemic species within and garam masala. Chewing cardamom after a meal is
the forest. A comparative analysis of cardamom-growing recommended to aid digestion and to clean teeth. In
practices, problems, and opportunities in the traditional Eastern medicinal practices it is used for curing such
cardamom-producing country, India, and in the world’s ailments as influenza, infections, asthma, bronchitis,
largest cardamom producer, Guatemala, showed that cardiac disorders, diarrhea, nausea, cataracts, and for
deterioration is a common denominator. On-farm strengthening the nervous system. It is also said to have
research, conducted as a complement to the project, a cooling effect in hot climates. Ancient Greeks and
demonstrated that organic cardamom could be prof- Romans already used its delicate aroma to make per-
itably grown in homegardens. By implementing agro- fume (Ravindran and Madhusoodanan 2002).
forestry systems, the harmful impact of cardamom culti- The aim of the present study was to describe the
vation on the forests might be dramatically reduced. effects of small cardamom cultivation on African natu-
ral mountain rainforest ecosystems and on the economy
Keywords: Cardamom; Elettaria cardamomum; cash of local communities in the East Usambaras, Tanzania,
crops; agroforestry; rainforest; mountain ecology; Tan- as well as identifying possibilities for sustainable and
zania; India; Guatemala. profitable cultivation using agroforestry methods. Data
were collected from 10 villages (Emau Hill, Shebomeza,
Peer-reviewed: February 2006 Accepted: February Mlesa, Kisiwani, IBC, Antakae, Makanya, Kwezitu,
2006 Mashewa, and Kimbo) in the buffer zone of Amani
Nature Reserve and the Derema corridor. The data
were based on observations of cultivated areas, informal
Introduction interviews, and questionnaires. An agroforestry field tri-
Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), one of al was conducted in the buffer zone of the Amani
Nature Reserve in 2000, in order to assess possible
the world’s most ancient spices, was already mentioned
intensive cardamom cultivation methods. Finally, a
in approximately 3000 BC in Sanskrit texts in India comparison, based on a literature review, was made with
(Ravindran and Madhusoodanan 2002). This “Queen of other cardamom-growing highland areas in India and
Spices” belongs to the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) Guatemala.
and is the third most expensive spice in the world, after
saffron and vanilla. It grows as a native in the southern
Cardamom cultivation in the East Usambaras
Indian forests of the Western Ghats. Owing to its
sensitiveness to wind, drought, and water-logging, The East Usambara Mountains (4°48′132–5°13′ S and
optimum yield is obtained on warm (10 to 35°C) and 38°32′–38°48′ E) belong to the chain of the Eastern Arc
humid (with >1500 mm of well-distributed rainfall) Mountains (Figure 1), which have the highest ratio of
mountain slopes at 600–1500 m elevation, under a endemic flora and fauna per 100 km2 of all biodiversity
hotspots in the world (Myers et al 2000). German set-
canopy of evergreen trees. Cardamom has been
tlers introduced cardamom to the area in the 1890s. In
commercially cultivated in the Western Ghats for 150 1954, Amani Botanical Garden in the Usambaras dis-
years, and India has had a virtual trade monopoly until tributed 10 seedlings to farmers who vegetatively propa-
recently. Cardamom and black pepper were also the gated the material for other farmers. After one decade
primary reason for establishing the sea route from the cardamom business started to flourish. The local
 Teija Reyes, Olavi Luukkanen, and Roberto Quiroz

FIGURE 1 Location of the East Usambara Mountains in the Eastern Arc.

132 (Source: http://www.easternarc.org/html/map.html)

threat of extinction, due to agriculture. Cardamom is

still grown inside forest reserves and conservation areas,
even if this practice is illegal (Table 1). About 60% of
the East Usambaras’ original natural forest has been
lost and only half of it is classified as dense. Local
extinction of understorey birds has been claimed to be
due to removal of understorey from forest cultivations
(Newmark 2000). Air humidity at higher altitudes has
also been associated with forest clearance (Hamilton
and Bensted-Smith 1989). About 26% of the forested
area is assumed to be under cultivation, mainly of car-
damom, but the estimates are ambiguous since car-
damom cannot be easily distinguished by remote sens-
ing techniques. Estimates of the area under cardamom
cultivation vary from 11,000 ha (Johansson and Sandy
1996) to 17,000 ha (Sah 1996).
Cardamom cultivation is still mostly practiced in
the forest after completely clearing the understory and
middle layer, and selectively thinning the tree canopy
(Figure 2). Farmers leave 75–100 trees/ha standing to
provide shade, increase soil moisture, and ensure vari-
ety in tree products (Masayanyika 1995). Cultivation
Washambaa people and immigrants from the nearby becomes unprofitable after about 7 years (Sah 1996),
highlands are currently the main cardamom growers in on some sites even after 1 production year (ie, after 3
the area. Cardamom stock in the East Usambaras years). A new site is then prepared for cardamom culti-
belongs to three varieties (‘Thwarites,’ ‘Malabar,’ and vation and the old area is cleared completely and con-
‘Mysore’) or their hybrids (Sah 1996). verted to annual crops, such as sugarcane, cassava, or
Cardamom is mostly grown in the fragile higher maize. When the field is finally abandoned, it degrades
parts of the mountains (above 850 m), and is expand- into Lantana camara, Clidemia hirta, and Psidium guajava
ing to less suitable sites. It is estimated that over 30% of scrub, which renders regeneration of other species very
Eastern Arc Mountain forest species, including many difficult (Stocking and Perkin 1992; Hamunen 1998)
endemic ones, have become extinct, or are under (Figure 3).
TABLE 1 Distribution of forest types in the East Usambara Mountains. (Source: land use survey by Kari Hyytiinen; see Hyytiinen 1995)

Forest class/sub-class Area (ha) % of all forests % of total area

Sub-montane rainforest 12,920 30.7 15.5

Dense forest 6940 16.5 8.3

Poorly stocked forest 470 1.1 0.6

Cultivation under foresta) 5510 13.1 6.6

Lowland forest 26,480 62.9 31.7

Dense forest 15,180 36.0 18.2

Poorly stocked forest 5790 13.7 6.9

Cultivation under forest a) 5510 13.1 6.6

Plantations 2720 6.5 3.3

Total 42,120 100.0 50.4

a) Primarily cardamom cultivation: 11,020 ha in total, representing 26% of the forests (19% inside forest reserves; see Johansson & Sandy 1996).

Mountain Research and Development Vol 26 No 2 May 2006

 Research

FIGURE 2 Cardamom cultivation in natural forest after selective thinning of tree

canopy. East Usambaras, Tanzania. (Photo by Teija Reyes) 133

of tall trees. The absence of smaller trees suggests forest

regeneration difficulties and opening of the canopy
when the overstorey trees die (Kumar et al 1995).
The research carried out in the East Usambaran
forest on cardamom areas 2–20 years after their aban-
donment concluded that succession in these areas is
very slow if noticeable at all. A total of 24% of 177 sites
studied did not have any seedlings, only a dense under-
growth thicket, and forest regeneration on these most
degraded sites seemed almost impossible. There is a
risk that these areas remain unproductive grasslands
and thickets, if succession is not artificially facilitated by
human intervention (Hamunen 1998).
A large number of the rain forest fragments in the
Anamalai Hills and in the Western Ghats that are under
After two and a half years, small cardamom is ready cardamom cultivation are doomed to disappear in the
for harvest, and the fourth year normally gives the high- long run, due to the absence of any regeneration (Uma-
est yield, about 125 kg/ha. Farmers maintain their 1-ha pathy and Kumar 2000). Regeneration of indigenous
cardamom farms by weeding and trashing (removing old trees can also be hindered by the fast-growing exotics
and dry shoots). Only creamy/white cardamom is pro- planted at cultivation sites. The deforestation rates in
duced in the area nowadays; it is obtained by drying fresh Guatemala are alarming, especially in Alta Verapaz, due
cardamom fruits in the sun. First-grade green cardamom, to commercial cultivation. Melgar (2003) estimates that
which is fire-dried, is no longer produced due to lack of if current deforestation rates were maintained, there
firewood. From 1950–1970, fire was the dominant would be no forests left in 40 years. Cardamom growers
method for drying the seeds, also because the climate in in India and Guatemala might be affecting the ecology
the mountains was moister than now. The capsules are and the water resources most seriously through the use
usually dried on mats near a road, thus increasing the of agricultural chemicals.
probability of finding impurities among the seeds.
Converting natural forest to cardamom cultivation
The economic importance of cardamom in the
has been identified as one of the main threats to the
East Usambaran forest and its species (Newmark 2000;
East Usambaras
CEPF 2005). The same problem has been noted in the About 60% of the highland farmers in the East Usam-
cases of India (Kumar et al 1995) and Guatemala baras grow cardamom, and cardamom farms cover
(Urquijo 2004). Regular pruning and cutting of trees approximately half of the total land area allocated to
and planting of fast-growing exotic tree species is prac- cash crops. The contribution of cardamom to average
ticed to provide the 40–50% shade needed for optimal household income is about 30%, and it accounts for
productivity. The “cardamom hill reserves” in the West- more than 50% of total cash-crop income. Cardamom
ern Ghats are characterized by low tree density and growers are better off than other semi-subsistence farm-
floristic diversity, and by a single canopy layer consisting ers, but their income is still far below the national per-
FIGURE 3 A typical pattern of forest degradation following the planting of cardamom in the East Usambara Mountains. (Modified after Stocking and Perkin [1992])
 Teija Reyes, Olavi Luukkanen, and Roberto Quiroz

134

FIGURE 4 A local kg/ha (Masayanyika 1995); nonetheless, there is empir-

farmer picking mature
cardamom capsules. ical evidence that under good land management and by
East Usambaras, adding manure it could easily reach about 1 kg per
Tanzania. (Photo by Teija stump and year, giving an average of 300 kg/ha. In the
Reyes)
mid-1970s, the East Usambaras were still producing
about 760 t of cardamom per annum (equaling 20% of
total world production), which made Tanzania the third
largest producer after India and Guatemala. Guatemala
took the leading position from India in 1980. In 1998,
Guatemala already produced 64% of all cardamom
traded worldwide, while India supplied 30% and the
other cardamom-producing countries 6% (Ravindran
and Madhusoodanan 2002). In 2002, Tanzania pro-
duced 560 t, which is very little compared with
Guatemala’s production of 19,000 t that year.
The initial investment is higher for cardamom than
for other crops: US$ 2.3 (TZS 2000) per ha, as com-
pared to US$ 0.006 (TZS 5) per ha for beans, or US$
0.009 (TZS 8) per ha for maize. Harvesting of car-
damom is also labor-intensive, because mature capsules
have to be collected manually, one by one, every 3
weeks for 6 months (Figure 4).
However, if cardamom is managed correctly, farm-
ers can make a good profit, as is the case for farmers in
the Western Ghats, India, where income from car-
damom can be 7 times higher than that from timber
harvesting using selective felling in rain forests (Nair
and Kutty 2004). Large cardamom (Amomum spp.)
thrives in already disturbed forest, for example after
selective logging, and prevents total forest destruction
(CIFOR 2002). The soil erosion rate is lower with the
cardamom crop covering the soil and some trees left for
capita average. The farmers need income from car- shading, as compared to land completely cleared for
damom to support their families even when they are annual crops.
aware of its negative impact on the forest. If fields are not completely cleared, ecosystem
Local farmers have limited formal education, gener- recovery depends on the existence of surrounding
ally attending only primary school, and education possi- intact and undisturbed forests (Parthasarathy 1999),
bilities are scarce. The road network is poor. Health-care the size and number of mature trees on a site, and the
facilities are very few and inaccessible to most people; intensity of man-made disturbance. If the site has been
more than half of the population can only consult tradi- greatly disturbed, the resulting dense thicket will pre-
tional healers. No chemicals or irrigation are used in car- vent regeneration of trees (Hamunen 1998). Complete
damom cultivation, and improved planting material does clearing usually follows upon cardamom yields dimin-
not exist in Tanzania. There are no producer associa- ishing.
tions and no quality control mechanisms. Until 1984, a The most sustainable practices involve mixed crop-
number of marketing societies and boards for cardamom ping (Moench 1991), using agroforestry methods for
existed in the East Usambaras (Sah 1996), but now pro- cardamom growing (Singh et al 1989; Sharma et al
duce is usually sold at a very low price to middlemen. 1994; Rao et al 2004). At least such combinations as are-
Price fluctuations are large, and prices can suddenly ca nut + nutmeg + clove, coconut + black pepper + cof-
drop to half of the previous month’s level. During the fee, and Grevillea robusta + black pepper provide suitable
study period, the average price for cardamom was US$ shade for cardamom (Ravindran and Madhusoodanan
2.9 (US$ 1=TZS 876.4, November 2001) per kg, varying 2002). By growing such valuable cash crops as small car-
from US$ 2.3/kg (with poor access to markets) to US$ damom using improved agroforestry methods, farmers
5.7/kg (when sold in Dar es Salaam). in the East Usambara Mountains have doubled their
The whole production is usually exported. Average income (Reyes et al 2005). A dense multiple canopy
annual cardamom yield in the East Usambaras is 80 and intercropping of cardamom with a variety of other

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135

crops and trees have been proven ecologically and eco- tion and health-care facilities, a high standard of living,
nomically sustainable and could even increase the fertil- and a good road network (Nair and Kutty 2004).
ity of already depleted soils (Moench 1991). Recently, cardamom yields in India have declined
In our experiments with intensive agroforestry in due to forest exploitation and a longer dry season.
Emau Hill in the East Usambaras, cardamom was inter- India has lost its Middle East markets to Guatemala,
cropped with Grevillea robusta and black pepper. Annual because the higher-quality Indian cardamom is now
production in the second production year was, on aver- more expensive. Prices in the Indian domestic market
age, 730 kg/ha, increasing up to 960 kg/ha in the high- are higher than those abroad, which led to some
est-yielding plots; production was more than 2 Guatemalan cardamom being smuggled to India. Due
kg/plant. This is 10 times as much per hectare—and 5 to high prices of small cardamom (Elettaria spp.),
times as much per plant—as the maximum yield cheaper large cardamom (Amomum spp.) is making
obtained within the secondary forest nearby. Our site inroads into specific domestic markets of India. The
on old farmland was cultivated without manure applica- average price difference between the 2 types is reported
tion. Many farmers have already started to cultivate to be around 300% (Tharian and Joby 2005).
small cardamom in their homegardens, also due to the Suitable conditions (well-distributed annual rainfall
lack of forest areas suitable for cardamom cultivation. and sufficiently cool climate all year round) and rapidly
expanding production have made Guatemala the
world’s foremost exporter of cardamom today. Under
Socioeconomic comparison of cardamom
those conditions, cardamom can also grow on open
growers in India and Guatemala land or with very little shade, which results in high
There are many similarities between the East Usam- yields. The maximum yield obtained in Guatemala, 366
baras, Tanzania; the Western Ghats, India; and Alta Ver- kg/ha, is almost 2.5 times higher than that obtained in
apaz, in Guatemala. In all cases, cardamom grows in India. In Guatemala, constantly renewed and developed
moist tropical highland forest and its cultivation is of production technology, large drying capacity, and effec-
economic importance to the local population. Another tive export companies all aim for good quality at the
common feature is the international concern regarding lowest prices. Production costs are reported to be only
the survival of valuable forests in the world’s 25 biodi- half of that in India (Ravindran and Madhusoodanan
versity “hotspot” areas (Myers 2000). There are, howev- 2002).
er, considerable differences between cultivation prac- About 70% of the cardamom in Guatemala is grown
tices and policies to support the cardamom agribusiness by 200,000 farmers living in poverty, on less than 4 ha
between these 3 cases. of land. The department of Alta Verapaz, for example,
Cardamom is the most important spice produced has the lowest development indicators in Guatemala.
and traded by India, but only 2% of production is Families often suffer from lack of food, health services,
exported, because of large domestic demand (Ravin- and education. They survive on limited cash income
dran and Madhusoodanan 2002). Previously, cardamom from coffee and cardamom production and by growing
cultivation was restricted to harvesting a natural product maize for subsistence. Cardamom-producing areas are
in state-owned forests, where only the extracted product on fragile mountain slopes degraded by slash-and-burn
belonged to the farmer (Kumar et al 1995). Today, agriculture. Land distribution in Guatemala is highly
about 69% of the farms are privately owned. The Indian unequal, with only 2.6% of the population owning 65%
Cardamom Research Institute and the Indian Institute of all arable land (Urquijo 2004).
of Spices Research have improved the planting material Cardamom is Guatemala’s fifth largest export prod-
and developed many high-yielding and disease-resistant uct, but it has recently faced many unexpected prob-
varieties. Use of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation is lems. The rains and landslides caused by Hurricane
widespread, and development of improved electric dry- Mitch in 1998 significantly reduced all crop production
ers and rub-cleaning machines is also advancing. (primarily in coffee, cardamom, and maize). In 1999, a
Cardamom producers in India are well educated combination of low coffee prices and favorable car-
and occupy the upper financial, social, and political damom prices encouraged producers to plant more car-
strata of local society. They get financial assistance from damom. In 2002, the harvest totaled 19,000 t, but insta-
various institutions and are well organized. Produce is bility in the Middle East (Iraq) caused prices to drop by
sold through auction houses registered with the Spices half. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, which typically pur-
Board, which also controls quality. Workers on car- chases 90% of Guatemala’s cardamom, canceled all car-
damom holdings earn more and have steadier employ- damom imports, which led to oversupply (Stewart
ment than those in other agricultural sectors. In car- 2004). Moreover, middlemen, generally from the con-
damom-producing areas, this crop provides a livelihood sumer countries, always receive higher profits than the
to the majority of the population. People have educa- producers.
 Teija Reyes, Olavi Luukkanen, and Roberto Quiroz

136

Future visions and recommendations substitutes for, the original ecosystem. A combination of
for Tanzania well-managed multiple-use agroforestry with protected
natural forests, and additionally perhaps with intensive-
India and Guatemala are committed to finding more ly managed forest plantations, could contribute both to
productive, drought-tolerant, and disease-resistant car- better livelihoods and to better maintenance of biodi-
damom varieties through genetic improvement. Pro- versity that depends on primary forest and is still direct-
duction expansion is no longer driven by increasing ly threatened by cardamom cultivation.
cultivation area but by improving productivity. Average The finding that well-distributed moisture through-
yields have increased more than fourfold in India (from out the year is more important for cardamom produc-
46 kg/ha to 206 kg/ha) in the last 35 years (John tion than total amount of annual rainfall highlights the
2005). To date, the entire world production of car- value of maintaining permanent forest cover. The main
damom has always been consumed the same year. In the recommendation deriving from the present study is to
last 15 years, global production and consumption have keep the field as diverse as possible and to save the sur-
increased almost 2.5 times, and it appears that car- rounding forest to maintain an appropriate microcli-
damom has a bright future, facing a steady increase in mate. A change from simple to more diverse agro-
demand and supply. Prices are also expected to remain forestry methods has potential in the East Usambaras.
steady or even to go up. Intensive promotion of tradi- Traditional agroforestry systems at some sites contain
tional and new uses of cardamom is being carried out 50–80% of the plant species diversity found in compara-
(in cough and cold medicines and in substitutes for cig- ble natural forests while providing most of the products
arettes; in biscuits, candies, and soft drinks), especially needed by local families (Huang et al 2002). Cardamom
in India (Ravindran and Madhusoodanan 2002). farmers in the East Usambaras urgently require external
In this study it was shown that cardamom growing support from district authorities and the national gov-
in natural primary forest is not sustainable in the long ernment for developing the whole agriculture-based
run. It also accelerates forest clearance, since farmers economy in the area. Strong producer associations will
argue that forest areas already thinned for cardamom be needed for developing the markets, stabilizing the
cultivation are easier to clear completely afterwards for prices, and helping to develop drying technology and
annual crops (eg by girdling the trees). Cardamom provide training for farmers to improve quality.
crops are still economically so tempting in the East Today, most of the world’s cardamom is cultivated
Usambaras that sustainable cultivation methods avail- using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In the East
able should be considered seriously to prevent further Usambaras, where smallholder farmers do not use min-
land degradation and aggravation of poverty. eral fertilizers or agricultural chemicals, the promotion
There is already a growing trend to shift cultivation of organic cardamom cultivation would additionally
from forests towards homegardens in the Usambaras, raise the value of the product on the market by up to
and in many villages farmers confirm that cardamom 30–40%. Certification of organic products has already
production is improved with the help of manure and started in some villages. Demand exceeds supply, and
better management. Our on-farm experiments also markets in the USA and Europe are expanding. East
show the potential for cardamom production in agro- Usambaran farmers can compete neither with amounts
forestry systems. There are many other examples of car- nor with prices in the global cardamom markets, but
damom intercropping in mountain areas that have they can be successful competitors by supplying organ-
proven to be both productive and sustainable. Agro- ic, sustainably produced cardamom and thus secure a
forestry elements are useful complements to, but not satisfactory livelihood income.

AUTHORS Roberto Quiroz

Natural Resources Management Division, International Potato Center, PO
Teija Reyes and Olavi Luukkanen Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru.
Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, PO Box 27, 00014 University of Helsin- [email protected]
ki, Finland.
[email protected]; [email protected]

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