Herbs need good marketing

The commercial cultivation of herbs, including medicinal and aromatic plants, is emerging as a lucrative branch of Indian agriculture. Typically, herbs, especially the economically useful parts of these plants, such as roots, leaves, flowers, or seeds, are collected from the wild for supplying the traditional health care sector and the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. However, most of the natural habitats of these plants have now got heavily depleted due to excessive and reckless exploitation. They cannot meet the rapidly growing demand of the domestic and export markets and, therefore, need to be augmented through their commercial farming.

This type of specialty agriculture, even though largely demand-driven, is also being supported by the government through various programmes implemented by the National AYUSH Mission (NAM). This mission is mandated to promote the time-honoured systems of health care, including Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy — together termed as AYUSH. Going by the World Health Organization’s reckoning, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population still rely, fully or partially, on these systems of native medication. Besides, nearly, 80 per cent of the raw material for medicines, including the modern drugs, comes from the herbs. Annual trade in herbal medicinal products is estimated at Rs 8,000-9,000 crore in the home market and around Rs 1,000 crore in the export bazaar.

These numbers seem set to swell perceptibly this year owing to a substantial surge in demand for several herbal formulations which are claimed by traditional health care practitioners to help build immunity against Covid-19. The ingredients of potions like Desi Kadha (concentrated water extract of selected herbs) — Tulsi (holy basil), Dalchini (Cinnamon), dry ginger powder, and black pepper — are in great demand both at home and abroad.

The Ayush ministry has recently launched a nationwide campaign to distribute the poly-herbal Ayurvedic drug called AYUSH 64 and another Siddha remedy named Kabasura Kudineer for use by the mild to moderate Coronavirus-infected patients being treated at homes. The required multi-centre clinical trials of AYUSH 64 were conducted by the Ayush ministry in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and of the Kabasura Kudineer by the Central Council for Research in Siddha.

This aside, the Haryana government has set up facilities for round-the-clock teleconsultancy with Ayurvedic experts to help Covid-19 patients avoid hospitalisation. Many voluntary organisations are offering similar consultancy in Yoga and indigenous systems of medicines to manage Covid-19 infection in its initial stages. Many homeopathic practitioners, too, are claiming success in symptomatic treatment of this dreaded ailment. Some homeopathic medicines, such as Arsenic alb, influenzinum, Camphor and others, are in demand as prophylactics.

India is fortunate in having a rich diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants. Its 15 well-marked agro-climatic zones are home to 17,000-18,000 types of flowering herbs. Of these, about 7,000 are believed to possess disease-curing capacities and other commercially exploitable traits. But, ironically, no more than 960 herbs are being actively traded at present. In fact, only 178 plants are consumed in excess of 100 tonnes a year. Since limited availability — not demand — is partly responsible for the low utilisation of many of these plants, the government has begun encouraging their regular farming to augment supplies. About 140 plants have been identified by the AYUSH mission for this purpose. The user industries are allowed to sponsor herbs production through contract farming with buy-back agreements with growers.

The states where specialised herbal farming has come up are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, and almost the entire Himalayan region. Karnataka enjoys special status because of its vast natural herbal wealth comprising over 2,500 therapeutic and scented plants. They yield mass-consumed products like Ashwagandha, sandalwood, Lemongrass, Citronella, Jasmine, Tuberose, and others. The state’s agro-climatic conditions are deemed fit for the cultivation of fast-selling products like Tulsi, Aloe vera, Guggal, Bail (Bilva tree), Stevia and similar others.

India’s vibrant herbal cosmetic industry, estimated to be growing annually at around 19 per cent since 2017, is another growth-driver for herbal agriculture. India has been a pioneer in developing perfumes and scents from flowers and other plant sources. Its “Ittars” or “Attars” (essences or essential oils extracted from aromatic plants), developed centuries ago, are still in demand despite growing competition from new domestic and global brands in the high-profile perfumes market. Advertising agencies are playing a significant role in changing consumer preferences in favour of organic cosmetics and skin creams.

That said, a bitter fact that cannot be overlooked is that the primary marketing of herbs, especially those collected from the jungles, is mostly unorganised, unregulated, and non-transparent. The market yards, mostly rural haats, where these are generally traded, are dominated by cartels of middlemen who exploit the small growers and tribals engaged in their collection. These malpractices need to be curbed to ensure faster development of herbal agriculture, as also the health care sectors and the industries depending on it.

surinder.sud@gmail.com