Plants with medicinal and other properties play a major role in the sphere of pharmaceuticals. Such plants which are widely used in Ayurveda system of treatment are closely associated with human health. However, due to the indiscriminate and excessive extraction of such plants from natural forests their existence in natural surroundings is under threat. Growing such flora in farm fields is one option but economic value addition for farmers also needs to be focused on while undertaking this effort. These views were shared by experts at a five-day training on cultivation and utilisation of medicinal plants for farmers of Uttarakhand currently underway at the Forest Research Institute.
Addressing the gathering as the chief guest on the occasion, the deputy director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) NS Bisht spoke of the considerable scope for medicinal plant based farming in Uttarakhand as the state is rich in basic resources required for cultivation of these valuable medicinal plants. He said that knowledge on climatic and site suitability for growing these plants should be with the farmers so that farmers may be able to grow a suitable species according to climate and site. Stressing on the need for maintaining the quality of seedlings, he said that this is vital as a good quality seedling produces a good quantity of produce. Self help groups should be formed at the village and block levels to share the knowledge on cultivation and marketing of their produce.
If formed in the rural areas, cooperatives may help in facilitating good marketing of produce obtained from medicinal plants. He stressed that the cultivation of a species should be done according to the market demand in a particular area. Further, factors like scientific harvesting, storage and processing technology of medicinal plants may enhance the productivity, he added.