Herbal Farming in India: Endeavor a niche in global Market

India has a rich population of medicinal plant species and is estimated as 2500 species available in this region. Of these, 2000 to 2300 species are used in traditional medicines while at least 150 species are used commercially - on a fairly large scale. India and Brazil are the largest exporters of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants in India are estimated to be worth Rs. 550 crore, ayurvedic ethical formulations contribute the remaining sum. Cosmetic industry as well as aroma therapy are the two important areas where Indian medicinal plants and their extracts, essential oil can contribute globally. Medicinal and aromatic plants have a promising market potential with the world demand of herbal products growing at the rate of 7 percent per annum. The WHO has listed 21,000 plants that have reported medicinal uses around the world. World Scenario at present - according to World Health Organisation (WHO) – more than I billion people rely on herbal medicines for their medical and therapeutic needs.

With the opening up of the global market for herbal and traditional medicinal plant extracts, and the subsequent increase in demand for the same, India is beginning to realise the potential for playing its own card in a sector that it has traditionally been strong at. It has resulted in many state governments propagating the cultivation of herbal and medicinal plants (setting up committees/boards in the process) on a larger commercial scale than before, to reach the international markets. As regards the Indian knowledge systems, there are apparently seven lakh registered practitioners of Indian systems of medicine (including Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Tibetan medicines) in the country. India is known to have 15,000 medicinal plants, which include 7000 used for Ayurveda, 700 in Unani and 600 in Siddha medicine, apart from other, perhaps non documented systems. The Asian countries together account for 16 per cent of the global market share (of the total US $62 billion) and the Chinese medicine has taken a large share of the export market, leaving India way behind. At present India exports 70 per cent in the form of crude drugs (unprocessed plants and extracts) and 30 per cent finished product which is not sufficient to become the world leader.

India is endowed, as no other country, with rich resources of medicinal and aromatic plants. An ‘herbal revolution’ is waiting to happen, but India has not grasped it as yet. This is an area where India could well achieve global leadership by exporting medicinal and aromatic produce and products. India is well qualified to meet the increasing demands of food, pharmaceuticals, perfumery, flavour and cosmetic industry. Consider the facts: it is blessed with 10 bio-geographic zones and 25 biotic provinces. It is one of the rare countries where more than 8000 medicinal plants grow; 2200 of these are known to have therapeutic properties. Ayurvedic medicinal formulations use about 600 herbs of which about 120 are consumed in high quantities. The World Bank estimates that global market for medicinal plants and their products is likely to grow to US$5 billion by 2050 growing at a rate of 14 per cent; with the areas of growth being pharmaceuticals.

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