A

fter decades of decline in the world’s markets, Indonesia aims to revive its past glory and reclaim its lost position as a major supplier of spices.

Although the dream will take years to fulfill, the steps to realize it will be taken as soon as next year as the Agriculture Ministry plans to allocate Rp 2.1 trillion (US$157 million) solely for providing seedlings for spices such as pepper, nutmeg and clove, in addition to other plantation commodities like fruits and vegetables.

“Next year, we plan to focus on boosting production of export-oriented spices like pepper and nutmeg in Maluku and many other places that were once popular for these commodities and attracted the Netherlands to invade [the archipelago],” Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman recently said.

The fame of spices drew European traders as early as the 16th century to from the sprawling archipelago.

For centuries, merchants traded dozens of different spices along the land route linking Southeast Asia to Europe known as the Silk Road.

While in the past, ancient kingdoms accumulated wealth and power from selling spices, farmers nowadays only accrue a small amount of wealth because of the small-scale farming operations they run.

The Agriculture Ministry’s planning bureau head, Kasdi Subagyono, said when approved by the House of Representatives, the money would be used to, among other things, develop innovative seedlings to replant old plantations.

The heavy reliance on aging plantations is thought by many to be the root cause of dwindling spice production year by year.

Production of major spices, namely nutmeg and cloves, fell to 29,713 tons and 139,522 tons, respectively, last year, from 33,711 tons and 139,641 tons, respectively.

The farming of spices, widely used as ingredients or condiments as well as integrated into beauty products and herbal medicines, is primarily dominated by small farmers growing the plants on small plots of land. As such, these farmers often fail to reach an economy of scale. This, in turn, leads to limited funds for farmers to replant their crops.

“One challenge developing this industry is the fact that our farmers have little money. They don’t have easy access to bank loans and therefore, they can’t change their old plants,” said Gamal Nasir, chairman of the Indonesian Spice Board.

Gamal, who is also a former plantations director general with the Agriculture Ministry, suggests that the government declare spices to be a strategic commodity because of their popularity in the international market.

“Most of the spices here are exported. Pepper, nutmeg, candlenut, gamir and cinnamon are exported to Europe and China,” he said.

“Europe is a big importer because the Dutch, for example, need them [spices] to warm themselves.”

Exports have fluctuated significantly between US$1 million and $2 million every year since 2012, according to data from the Trade Map. Exports dropped by 33.3 percent to $1.6 million last year. Top buyers include India, Vietnam, South Korea, Russia and Malaysia.

As most producers are small farmers, the government hopes to attract investors into the plantation sector to jack up production.

Foreign investors can own a business in spices with an ownership of up to 95 percent, said the Agriculture Ministry’s expert staff for agriculture investment, Syukur Iwantoro.

“There’s still ample land available for spices farming, mostly in Maluku, Riau Islands and Bangka Belitung Islands,” he said.