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Meghalaya’s turmeric now landing in UK, Netherlands. Mission Lakadong transformed farming.
Aug 08, 2023

The zigzag roads in the West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya are a gateway to villages that now draw traders from across India and abroad to the golden spice, turmeric. Beyond the mist and clouds that often wrap these remote villages, people have been growing Lakadong—considered to be the finest variety of turmeric in the world—for generations. Now, Meghalaya’s Lakadong Turmeric has got fresh legs. And one magic word is on every grower’s mind—curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric that’s used for pharmaceutical purposes, lending it its premium value.

Five years after Meghalaya set up Mission Lakadong, the local turmeric has set the district abuzz with economic activity, trade, and transforming farming and making it export-ready. Now Meghalaya’s turmeric is landing in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The state’s biggest competitors are Telangana and Maharashtra.

Several other states eclipse Meghalaya when it comes to the quantity of turmeric produced, but when the scales of quality are put out, the numbers flip. Three varieties of turmeric are grown in the West Jaintia Hill district – Lachein, Lasyein and Lakadong. While the first two varieties yield only four to five per cent curcumin, Lakadong boasts an average of seven per cent curcumin content. And the number is only native to this tiny district, which is bordered by Bangladesh in the south and Assam in the north. All attempts at growing the same turmeric elsewhere resulted in a sharp fall in curcumin level.

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