Today, the golden spice grown in the hills of Jaiñtia has reached the global stage, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcasing Meghalaya’s GI-registered Lakadong turmeric at the G7 Summit. A decade ago, few outside Meghalaya had heard of Lakadong turmeric.
The story begins with the geography of the Jaiñtia Hills. Studies by the ICAR Research Complex for the North Eastern Hill Region, along with assessments by the Meghalaya government and interventions under the National Horticulture Board’s cluster programme, point to favourable soil and climatic conditions, particularly in West Jaiñtia Hills, where Lakadong has traditionally been cultivated. The state government describes Lakadong as one of Meghalaya’s most distinctive agricultural products, with its high curcumin content giving it considerable potential in high-value markets. Government interventions have increasingly moved beyond cultivation to strengthen the value chain through quality planting material, farmer capacity building, aggregation, processing, finance and market linkages. For farmers, the transformation has been tangible. Padma Shri awardee Trinity Saioo, who spent years organising Lakadong growers and promoting better cultivation practices, has seen the change first-hand. For Riwame Lyngdoh of Shangpung village, the shift has meant less wastage and better prospects. “Initially we cultivated the crop in our own indigenous way as taught by our ancestors. The government’s emphasis is now increasingly on what happens after the crop leaves the field. The GI status recognises Lakadong as a distinctive agricultural product of Meghalaya and provides a mechanism to protect its geographical identity, authenticity and reputation in domestic and international markets. He has also emphasised building the ecosystem around such products, from production and processing to branding, certification and international markets.
More than 2,500 metric tonnes of quality planting material have been supplied to 7,345 farmers. A major milestone came in March 2024, when Lakadong turmeric received its Geographical Indication registration under GI Application No. 741.
“There is a huge difference from the way we cultivated earlier,” Saioo said. This led to a lot of wastage and sometimes we would not get a price that would commensurate our labour,” Lyngdoh said. Union minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia has described Lakadong as a flagship “Brand North East” product, highlighting its potential to take Meghalaya’s high-curcumin turmeric from a traditional agricultural crop to a globally recognised value-added product.
“Farmers previously relied on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Today we encourage organic cultivation using cow dung, goat manure, biofertilisers and biopesticides.
