Sikkim: Medicinal herb sector on improvement course

Gangtok, May 24: Sikkim medicinal herbs sector is improving with farmers showing encouraging results and assurances coming from the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) for infrastructural and marketing support.

State Medicinal Plant Board (SMPB) Director Bejoy Gurung today said that the NMBP will support new schemes for the medicinal plant growers in the state.

''NMBP have agreed in principle to our proposals for providing systematic botanical survey, documentation of herbal outlets and other schemes to revitalise and popularise the traditional systems of Sikkim Himalayas, including establishment of warehousing facilities in different centres and market infrastructural development,'' Mr Gurung said.

''If these schemes materialise, commercialisation of local medicinal plants will be done in a big way to make medicinal plants cultivation a sustainable alternative land use system,'' Mr Gurung added.

Presently, 84 farmers in the state have been supported by NMBP to cultivate medicinal plants like Chirota, Gloriosa Supreba (Langarey Tarul) and Asparagus (Kurilo) and other marketable herbs.

Some of these contractual farmers have given encouraging results, Mr Gurung said.

SMPB was established in 2002 with the three main objectives of preservation, promotion and marketing of medicinal plants.

The Director said medicinal plant cultivation by private holdings in the state is still in a nascent stage but expressed confidence that this sector will grow.

SMPB is about to complete the two-day workshop in the state to make people aware of the traditional herbal systems, future scopes and market of the herbs.

Sikkim Himalaya region has the highest bio-diversity with over 500 species of medicinal plants found whose healing potential are yet to be tapped.

Apart from various awareness programmes held all over the state, the promotion campaign also included giving one-time grant to local herbal practitioners. These practitioners are sometimes referred to as ''jhakris'' (shamans), who have been following herbalism and shamanism practice for centuries ago.

Presently, China is struggling to meet its annual demand of medicinal herbs. With local herbs being listed in Nathula border trade between Tibet Autonomous Region and Sikkim, the state herbal sector can also explore into this market in future, said the stakeholders.

UNI