Farmers urged to benefit from demand for aromatic plants
The Hindu
DHARWAD: E.V.S. Prakash Rao, chief scientist, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Bangalore, called upon farmers and entrepreneurs in the State to take advantage of the increased demand for medicinal and aromatic plant products.
He was speaking at the two-day training programme on medicinal and aromatic plants for progressive farmers and entrepreneurs in north Karnataka, organised by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Development of Karnataka (CEDOK) here on Monday.
India, the second biggest market for aromatic products, is in the third place after Brazil and the United States in the manufacturing of aromatic products. India has a bright future in this sector. The production in this sector is estimated at 22,060 tonnes, Dr. Rao said.
The medicinal plants business in India is worth about Rs. 550 crores, and Indian pharma industries have a business of Rs. 2,000 crores annually, Dr. Rao said. With the demand increasing for medicinal plants, seven million hectares of barren land in Karnataka can be used for growing medicinal plants, he added.
Dr. Rao said that the recent problem faced by farmers in growing medicinal plants is because of wrong information. Medicinal plants should be grown in a scientific manner, and farmers should be conscious of quality. Farmers of north Karnataka have sufficient opportunities in this field, he said.
M.V. Alagawadi, Director, CEDOK; S. Sridharan, scientist; K.V. Shamsundar, technical officer; and others were present
