Benefiting farmers and start-ups, Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) has opened a sales outlet – SPIISRY – at the entrance of its Chelavoor campus to ensure mutual benefit to all stakeholders.
The farmer-buyer link in the trade ensures good price to the farmers as well as quality spices to the start-ups. SPIISRY, which serves as a single point outlet for dispensing the services and products, is a stamp that assures the quality and safety offered by the institute, said Santhosh J Eapen, Director, IISR.
According to the figures available with IISR, more than 25 start-ups are now associated with SPIISRY marketing various products through the outlet. The SPIISRY offers over 100 products including health and wellness products, spice infused cosmetic products, spice powders and other products through the outlet.
It also provides bio-inputs, agri inputs and quality planting materials developed at the Institute. Many farmers registered with IISR also benefit from the initiative.
Many times, the prevailing local market prices turn uneconomical leaving the farmers with limited options for finding buyers from outside. This forces many farmers to leave their crops unharvested, said IISR scientists.
The support from SPIISRY comes to the aid of registered farmers at this juncture as the unit connects these farmers with the incubatees or start-ups that are ready to procure spice products by paying a good price. IISR offers spice processing facilities, technical support to farmers and market linkage to start-ups.
SPIISRY also works as a start-up promotion unit of the IISR offering constant support to young entrepreneurs and training them to launch start-ups.
SPIISRY is planning future collaboration with government and non-government groups to benefit a large number of farmers and start-up ventures. IISR is also to strike a collaboration with Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd in the areas of commercialisation and marketing of spices-based products developed by IISR, development of novel health and wellness products through collaborative research and handholding entrepreneurs and start-up ventures.