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Within the total area of 2.94 million hectares, 7% is utilized for organic farming. This includes theuncertified, but organically grown farming area in the north-eastern states. Approximately 10% of thecrop area is covered under Integrated Pest Management (IPM) farming.Cinnamon VanillaSaffronClove NutmegPepperTamarind7%2%Onion &CardamomGarlic3%6%Seed Spices41%Chilli28%Turmeric6%Ginger5%Figure 5: Crop Area DistributionThe major part of the cropped land is used for seed spices namely cumin, coriander, celery, fennel,fenugreek, dill and ajowan. These are concentrated in the northern states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,Gujarath, Punjab and Uttaranchal. Chillies being the next major crop are mainly grown in the southernstates of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVESThe industry has been proactive in its initiatives toward sustainability. The emphases were on thesupply chain and processing. In order to ensure the availability of raw materials and consistency, theindustry and government agencies promoted backward integration in major spice crops.The industry made considerable investments in process technologies; and was keen on adopting thelatest processing equipment. In addition, there have been government incentives to upgrade theprocessing and quality assurance /quality control infrastructure.42