Chhattisgarh ties up with Dabur to provide herbs for ayurvedic products

The company would be setting up nurseries in urban and rural areas of Dabur for producing medicinal plants

Dabur India Limited, one of country’s leading FMCG companies, would be using medicinal plants and herbs produced in Chhattisgarh in its herbal and ayurvedic products.

The company, a world leader in ayurveda with a portfolio of over 250 herbal and ayurvedic products, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state-run Chhattisgarh medicinal plants board. Under the agreement, the board would provide the medicinal plants and herbs to Dabur.

“Dabur would be provided the raw material for manufacturing herbal and medicinal products through the village level forest management committee,” board chairman Rampratap Singh said. Over 4000 people associated with 800 committees would be benefited.

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh has also been endowed with rich medicinal plants and herbs. The trade of the medicinal and herbs in the state is estimated at Rs 1500 crore annually. The available produce includes tendu leaves, Kullu,  Dhawda, Babul, Khair, Sal seed, Harra, Imli, Mahua, lac, Kosa, Mahul Leaves, chironjee Baibaring, Vanjeera, Kalmegh, Aonla etc.

In Chhattisgarh, production and collection of forest produce is an important way of creating financial self-dependence for forest dwellers. “The tie up with Dabur will not only help in the promotion of cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs but also provide additional income and employment to rural population,” Singh added.

The company would be setting up nurseries in urban and rural areas for producing medicinal plants.

The Chhattisgarh Government has declared the state as "Herbal state" with an objective to conserve  medicinal plants, cultivation of medicinal plants, non destructive harvesting, promote organized trade and promote minor forest produce based industries to generate additional employment opportunities in the state and provide health cover.

A taskforce has been constituted within minor forest produce federation to achieve the objectives of herbal state. The state government is also developing herbal garden on 500 acres of land.