A
plan to propel
The
domestic and global demand for alternative medicine has created a
need to preserve the genetic stock and diversity of medicinal plants,
say GR Chintala and KS Ravi Shankar
Since
ancient times, the traditional system of medicine has kindled the
scientific curiosity of the populace, giving birth to an Indian medical
system called Ayurveda. Compilations of sages Charaka and Susruta
gave a detailed description of the plants, their properties, extraction
techniques to get the active compound, and procedures for ingestion
of the medicine for effective treatment of various ailments. The system
flourished down the ages until the early 19th century, when the advent
of the English medical system or allopathy brought path breaking changes
in the world. The allopathic system spread across the seas, leading
to proliferation of higher, sophisticated and sustained research in
this field.
The prosperity ushered in by the allopathic system brought associated
problems in the form of diseases related to sedentary lifestyles,
new diseases defying control, and adverse reactions to many allopathic
drugs. Consequentially, the practitioners as well as general population
began turning their attention to alternative medicine systems which
are synergistic with the physiology and biophysics of the patient
and would have least complications.
This scenario led to the rediscovery of the traditional medicinal
systems and ayurveda, along with the Chinese herbal medicines.
Empirically, global markets for alternative medicines have grown to
$60 billion annually with a compounded growth rate of around 10 per
cent.
This growth has propelled the ayurvedic industry in India to grow
faster in the past two decades.
The potential available in the country, both in meeting the domestic
demand and increasing the share in international market for an alternative
system of medicine, is immense. The country has 45,000 species of
flora and 6,500 species of fauna.
It has two biodiversity hot spots in the Eastern Himalayas and the
Western Ghats, which are among the 18 biodiversity hot spots identified
worldwide. Around 8,000 wild species in the country have been identified
to be of use in tribal medicine, of which at least 540 species find
major use in herbal drugs. Seventy per cent of Indian medicinal plants
are found in tropical forest areas spread in the Western and Eastern
Ghats, the Vindhyas, Chhotanagpur plateau, Aravalis and Shivalik Himalayas.
The remaining 30 per cent of medicinal plants found in the temperate
and alpine areas, as well as the higher altitudes of the country,
are reputed for their higher medicinal value.
Major Indian medicinal plants entering global commerce include Acorus
Calamus, Agave Sisalana, Aloe Vera, Ammi Majus, Ammi Visnag, Atropa
Acuminata, Atropa Belladonna, Berberis Vulgaris, Catharanthus Roseus,
Datura Metel and so on. While data on their exports is not available,
it is observed that the following species are in short supply: Aconitum
Hetrophyllum (Atis), Saraca Asoca (Ashok), Wrightia Tinctoria (Indrajava),
Nelumbo Nucifera (Kamalphool), Piper Cubeba (Kankol), Curcuma Zedoaria
(Kapurkachari), Pistacia Chinensis (Kakadshingi), Myrica Esculenta
(Kaiphal), Curculigo Orchioides (Kalimusli), Aquilaria Agallocha (Krishnageru),
Swertia Chirata (Kirata), Artemisia Maritima (Kirmaniova), Picrorrhiza
Kurroa (Kutki), Saussurea Lappa (Kuth), Alpinia Galangal (Kolingan),
and so on.
The above list could be treated as illustrative in the absence of
adequate documentation facilities available in the country in this
area. However, the propensity to commercially source the above species
from the wild through destructive harvesting, which poses a definite
threat to genetic stock and diversity of medicinal plants, is a matter
of serious concern. A threat assessment exercise conducted in northern
and southern India, conducted as per the latest guidlenes of the Ineternational
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, has already
listed around 200 species of medicinal plants as rare, endangered
or threatened.
A practical way out is to systematically bring some of the above species
to commercial cultivation. Some species like Withania Somnifera, Aloe
Barbedensis, Rauvolfia Serpentina, Zingiber Officinale, Piper Longum,
Acarus Calamus and more are already being cultivated on a commercial
scale in the country. The National Medicinal Plants Board has identified
the overall development and subsidised cultivation of 32 species.
Besides, the Board also has projects for encouraging in-situ conservation
and ex-situ cultivation of selected medicinal plants, creation of
region-wise and species-wise demonstration centres (herbal gardens)
for the benefit of farmers, production of germplasms of quality planting
materials, market information services on medicinal plants and creation
of state-of-the-art infrastructure for the purpose of value addition.
The costs involved in the process, would be phenomenal for the Government
agencies to fund on their own, which necessitates the pitching in
of finances by the banking industry with National Bank for Agriculture
and Rural Development, as the apex financing body, taking the lead
in propelling the growth.
FINANCING OPTIONS
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The projects drawn up
by the National Medicinal Plants Board would enable the creation of
a conducive environment for sustainable growth of a herbal-based pharmaceutical
industry and eventually garner a substantial share in the international
herbal medicine market in the near future. However, an immediate concern
is the need for caution in motivating farmers to take up ex-situ cultivation
of medicinal plants on a commercial scale when the infrastructure
by way of availability of quality planting material, extension services
for cultivation techniques, processing, value addition and credible
marketing facilities are not yet in place. The availability of financial
subsidy from the National Medicinal Plants Board for cultivation of
the 32 species identified by it, opens up the demand for bank credit
to fund cultivation projects by farmers. Questions further arise regarding
the extent to which bank resources are to be exposed to this area.
Free flow of funds from the banking sector, in the absence of a supporting
infrastructure for cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, nip
the bud in its nascent stage, leaving the longterm objectives unrealised.
Nabard has already initiated policy measures to support bank finance
for cultivation of medicinal...
contd...
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