Reiterating his government's resolve to double the income of farmers in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to give a boost to herbal and organic cultivation along the banks of the river Ganga and to expand the area for herbal cultivation to over 10 lakh hectares.
An official statement released on Tuesday said that the government had prepared a unique plan with an allocation of Rs 4,000 crore to step up organic and zero farming in the state and also support its distribution with a dedicated market, which in turn would help farmers living in the adjoining regions by increasing their income up to Rs 500 crore.
At present, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) is supporting the cultivation of medicinal plants in an area of 2.25 lakh hectares in the state. Nearly 800 hectares of land along the river Ganga will be brought under cultivation with the NMPB.
Along with this, the Agriculture and Horticulture departments are also aiding the ambitious plan of the government by providing grants for selected crops on basis of acreage per hectare.
Uttar Pradesh is extremely prosperous in terms of agro-climatic conditions. With the presence of nine kinds of agro-climatic zones, abundant water, human wealth and the immense fertile land of the Indo-Gangetic region, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has acknowledged the state's potential of developing as a hub of organic and herbal farming.
Considering the large market demand of organic products in the country as well as abroad, this step of the state government is expected to emerge as a special benefit scheme for the farmers.
The Agriculture Department has taken major steps to boost medicinal farming in the state. It recently started the 'Amrita' scheme with the help of Uttar Pradesh Ayush Society. Under the scheme, an Ayush Vatika (model herbal nursery) consisting of medicinal plants has been set up in an area of about 20 hectares in Dehwa in Mohanlalganj, Lucknow.
The nursery will facilitate the process of seed production, transplanting and cultivation of several herbs like Shirish, Ghritkumari, Neem, Shatavari, Punarnava, Sahajan, Jatamanashi, Tulsi, Ratanjot Ginsenga, Giloy and Aonla.
The farmers will also be trained and quality seeds and saplings from the nursery will be provided to them at the lowest price. Units will be set up to process individual products in the future. The government will also help farmers in grading and packing of the products.
Additional Director (Publicity) of Agriculture Department, Dr Anand Tripathi, said that during the training, the farmers would also visit CIMAP and Rehmankhera for a better understanding of herbal farming.
The government will also make arrangements for the farmers to grasp practical knowledge of the cultivation techniques by making them interact with scientists and experts at its own expense. In addition to this, the farmers will also be connected to well-established Ayurvedic companies and exporters to enable them to get fair prices for their produce.
Ayurveda and herbal farming is centuries old science from India which is now a name that can be reckoned with in any part of the world. The government's plan to boost herbal farming will not only serve as a measure to strengthen the economy of farmers in the state but will also help in making the unproductive areas in the state cultivable.
According to the World Health Organization, even today, about 80 per cent of the people in developing countries depend on medicinal herbs for primary health care.
The annual demand of up to 15 per cent for medicinal plants confirms that people still rely on them for health purposes. The demand for herbal medicines because of the resistance they provide to life-threatening viruses witnessed a whopping increase during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Yogi government is working on three major goals simultaneously through this scheme. The first is the cleanliness of the river Ganga, the second is the income of the farmers and the third is the production of large quantities of organic crops in the state.