Meghalaya has ideal conditions for medicinal, aromatic plants

Meghalaya Governor Ganga Prasad today said the hill state has ideal conditions for cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.

He was speaking at a workshop on scope of aromatic plants in Meghalaya.

Meghalaya has ideal conditions for the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. There is a demand in the global market for the produce of these medicinal and aromatic plants and there are immense opportunities in the state for sustainable expansion in the areas under cultivation for larger interest of the growers and entrepreneurs, he said.

With the increasing demand of natural essential oils, aroma products and herbal extracts from medicinal and aromatic plants, the ability of the farmer or the entrepreneur to process the plants for value addition and for making high quality products has opened the possibility of increased income generation and better quality of life, he said.

Earlier, Additional chief secretary K N Kumar informed that there are 834 medicinal plants identified in the state and there is a need to have a compendium of all these plants.

Stressing on the requirement of having Aromatic and Medicinal plants policy and an Aroma Mission for the larger protection and conservation of the medicinal plants in the State, Kumar highlighted the need to have a capacity building workshop with the Kabiraj of the State.

The Institute of Natural Resource under Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) has planned promotion of medicinal and aromatic plants related activities in the State with the aim to introduce, develop and disseminate technologies for cultivation, promotion and processing among the growers and entrepreneurs in a time bound manner, MBDA CEO P Sampath Kumar said.

It is emphasized to introduce only such commercially viable crops which are suitable to the agro climatic conditions of the State, he said.

The workshop, organized by the Institute of Natural Resources at the Raj Bhavan here, was organised with an aim to provide awareness to the people and young entrepreneurs for development of entrepreneurial skills in area of essential oil processing and value addition and to impart knowledge to participants.