Asia

Asia has been the most important spice continent for Europe for centuries, but there is increasing competition from countries in Africa and South and Central America, such as Madagascar, Cameroon, and Guatemala.

The early trade in spices from the Far East has long been accompanied by strict confidentiality. Violence was not avoided. Such as Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Admiral of the VOC in 1821, who massacred the people of Banda to guard the secret of nutmeg.

Europeans still play an important role in the spice trade from Asia, but they have also changed the landscape. This is also true in recent history. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, French specialists revived the pepper cultivation they had previously introduced in Kampot, Cambodia.

In many places in Asia, you see initiatives emerging to support farmers and farming communities. assist in shaping a sustainable agricultural existence while preserving one's own identity and traditions. Biodiversity and cultural diversity go hand in hand, as in the Indian Wayanad and in the Vietnamese, Nepalese, and Indian Himalayas, where foraging is increasingly becomes more sustainable.