The country has about 1,500 hectares under vanilla production spread in Kerala, Karnataka and some parts of Tamil Nadu. The majority of the produce comes from Kerala, where vanilla is produced in about 600-700 hectares. The cultivation yields about 250-300 kg of vanilla beans per hectare.

But the farmers are reticent about producing vanilla because of the prevailing low price compared to what it was earlier. A kilo of cured vanilla beans would fetch about Rs 600, while a few years ago the price used to be Rs 1,500 a kg.

The Spices Board's scheme is to make available tissue culture plantlets of vanilla to farmers at a subsidised rate. According to officials, a plant would cost the board Rs 7 which would be given to the farmer for Re 1. The Board would also provide 25per cent of the total cost of cultivation, which has been estimated at Rs 40,000. The cost is inclusive of planting material, maintenance and labour.

Growing vanilla is not very labour intensive. They are allowed to climb up to five feet and are rolled horizontally. This allows for manual pollination of the flower.

The tissue culture plants are being procured from private parties involved in this business. AV Thomas, Kochi, Indo American Hybrid Seeds, Bangalore, and Spic, Coimbatore, who are exporting tissue culture plants of various varieties are providing the Spices Board with vanilla plantlets.

Another scheme of the board is to promote production of rooted vanilla cuttings. This would ensure availability of the plant. Growers identified by the board would be providing certified planting material. There is also a 50 per cent subsidy for this scheme.

Though the board is not concerned with the development aspect of spices except in the case of cardamom, the ministry has given the go-ahead in the caseof vanilla because it is a new crop and there is no other agency to look after its promotion, said the officials. The crop came to Kerala as late as 1994.

The Board is also trying to find a way out to get the farmers a good price. Usually farmers fail to get the right price because of uneven quality of the processed vanilla beans. Extraction of vanillin, which provides the essence, is a specialised process, for which there are not many players. Prices are are mostly dictated by them.

The Spices Board is also providing a 50 per cent subsidy for setting up a vanilla beans processing unit. Usually, the drying process costs between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. Processing the beans takes about 20 days. Only proper drying yields good quality beans, said the officials. The technique can be perfected only by practice.

Vanilla essence made synthetically had been till recently the favourite world over because of its low cost. With a global inclination for more natural products, vanilla plant has acquired moreprominence.