Seminar On Medicinal And Aromatic Plants
Date: Wed Jul 08, 2015 - Wed Jul 08, 2015
Location: Asian Confluence Centre, Shillong , Hosts: Asian Confluence
Location: Asian Confluence Centre, Shillong , Hosts: Asian Confluence
An engaging talk on the Meghalaya’s wealth of aromatic plants and medicinal herbs by Dr Anil Kumar Tripathi, Director, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) was hosted by Asian Confluence to address an audience of students, teachers and others. Dr. Tripathi had signed an MOU with the Meghalaya Basin Developmental Authority (MBDA) in an effort to connect Meghalaya’s farmers to the herbal industry. The purpose of the event was to promote Meghalaya as the suitable destination for cultivating medicinal and aromatic plants that has an immense demand in the Indian market.
In his talk Dr. Tripathi pointed out that Meghalaya is the natural habitat of aromatic and medicinal plants such as Artemesia annua from which the most effective ant-malarial drug artemisinin is extracted from the leaves of the plant. He exhort that seventy-five percent of the country’s requirement of Artemisia is imported and there is a dire need for such drugs to be produced in India. He reckons that North East India has the perfect conditions to produce the required medicinal plants.
In regards to motivating the farmers to produce Artemisia, he informed that such medicinal plants can be cultivated in degraded lands where it can be harvested 2-3 times a year. Additionally he provided further incentive that with the MOU underway, the MBDA will help create the bridge between farmers and companies by providing a buy-back arrangement. He pointed out that the habit of collecting the medicinal and aromatic plants and not cultivating them has resulted in over-exploitation to the point that most of them are now extinct. “We need to cultivate these plants so that we have a supply for the pharmaceutical industry”, Dr. Tripathi explained.
As the eventful day concluded, Dr. Tripathi urged students to become entrepreneurs in the business of aromatic and medicinal herbs, which he reckons, has a huge industry and requires young people to start growing such medicinal herbs which grow very well in the North Eastern States.
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