[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]CHIRAYATA CULTIVATION PROJECT
(Contractual Farming of Chirayata in District Tehri Garhwal of Uttarakhand)
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
In recent years, there has been a tremendous growth of interest in plant based drugs pharmaceuticals, perfumery products, cosmetics and aroma compounds used in food flavours and fragrances and natural colours in the word. There is a definite trend to adopt pant based products due to the cumulative derogatory effects resulting from the use of antibiotic and synthetics; and except for a few cultivated crops, at available of plant based materials is mainly from the natural sources, forests and wastelands. But due to the ever inversing utilization of land for food crops, devastation of forest and the concurrent indiscriminate exploitation of these crops, there availability from natural sources has declined. On the other hand, the demand for internal use and for export has been increasing, necessitating the production of these crops on a large scale, there so a need to introduce these crops into the cropping systems of the country, which besides meeting the demands of the industry, will also help to maintain the standards on quality, potency and chemical composition. Since theses crops are new and uncommon to growers and they often lack knowledge of their scientific cultivation, there is hesitation even among the interested growers, to take up their cultivation. Plants have been one of the important sources of medicines even since the field of allopathic during the 20th century; plants still remain one of the major sources of drugs in modern as well as traditional systems of medicines throughout the world.
Since majority of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild by unskilled people, problems of inconsistent quality, adulteration, destructive method of collection leading to extinction or endangered status of a number of plants, are serve. On the other hand, the demand for herbal medicines is increasing day by day as more and more people become aware of the dangers of side effects of allopathic medicines. In order to bridge the gap between these two scenarios, it is necessary to undertake a detailed study to shortlist a few medicinal plants by adhering to Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Such cultivation practices will then obviate the problems of inferior quality, adulteration and erosion of genetic resources.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
• To utilize the wasteland or so called low yielding arable land to its full extent with this medicinal crop fetching good economic returns.
• To channelization the resources from the place of production to the market.
• To promote existing agriculture practices for economic upliftment of the people.
• To create people’s awareness towards the potential of medicinal plant’s cultivation.
• To generate employment opportunities to all, especially to the women’s of hill.
• To boost the socio-economic status of the local people.
COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
• Establishment of temporary and permanent nursery of chirayata.
• Cultivation of chirayata t Institution level and also at farmer’s level.
• Maintaining the high yielding variety of chirayata throughout the operation.
• Marketing of produces.
TARGET AREA AND TARGET GROUPS OF THE PROJECT
The target area of the project was Ranichauri area of Chamba Block in District Tehri Garhwal of Uttarakhand. Low income group families were the target groups of the project.
FUNDING AGENCY
The project is funded by National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi.
COST OF THE PROJECT
The project was sanctioned by NMPB during the year 2006. Total cost of the project sanctioned by NMPB for three years was Rs. 9,87,000.00 out of which Rs. 2,96,000.00 was provided by National Medicinal Plants Board, Rs. 5,43,000.00 was contributed by HIFEED and Rs. 1,48,000.00 was arranged as credit from the Financial Institutions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”765″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row]