Sustainable production and marketing of large cardamom: The role of transboundary cooperation in harnessing comparative advantages in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

The Kangchenjunga Landscape – spread across parts of eastern Nepal, Sikkim and North Bengal in India, and the western and south-western parts of Bhutan – is home to an array of niche mountain products. An assessment conducted by the Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KLCDI) on ecosystem services identified large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb) as an important cash crop in the region1. Large cardamom is an agro-ecologically sympatric crop that is less labour intensive and less dependent on external inputs than other farming options. It has comparative advantages for mountain communities as it is a highvalue, low-volume crop that grows well on marginal lands and favours agroforestry systems suited to mountain environments.