Nandan Agro to focus on medicinal plants

Nandan Agro Farms (NAP) is planning a country-wide contract farming initiative for medicinal plants such as safed musali and ashwagandha.

Nandan Agro Farms would use a franchise model to service partners, who would be farmers growing medicinal plants. NAP has appointed Suphla Ltd of Mumbai as its first franchisee.

Demand for 'natural products' and 'natural remedies' had led to revival of interest in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs).

China has developed products based on MAPs. Its export of such value-added products was around Rs 22,000 crore last year.

India like China was home to about a third of the known MAPs in the world. However, lack of products restricted Indian exports to Rs 500 crore.

To become globally competitive and increase exports, new and value-added would have to be developed.

The market for safed musli was for example still untapped. NAP would promote safed musli cultivation and look for other plants for product development and exports.

The focus would be on herbal solutions for problems like stress (using aswagandha), obesity (using garcinia indica), impotency (using chlorophytum borivilianum) etc.

NAP has set up a research and resource center for MAPs at Zaheerabad to promote good agricultural practices and develop standard processing technologies conforming to global quality standards.