The Assam Government has taken the initiative to emphasize market-led production of lemongrass, vetiver, patchouli, and basil leaf. A pilot project on Medicinal and Aromatic plants (MAP) will be implemented by the Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing as the nodal agency and the CSIR- Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow is the technical partner.

The Northeast is home to varied medicinal flora; these are labeled as “beauty plus brains” because of their beautiful blossoms and therapeutic qualities. Manu indigenous communities are also involved in the cultivation of many such plants.

The total budget for the implementation of the project is Rs. 8.02 crores. It includes Rs. 2.66 crores for production and demonstrations, Rs. 0.30 crores for post-harvest demonstration, Rs. 1.20 crores for setting up mini processing plants, Rs. 2.53 crores for operations, and Rs.0.75 crores for training and capacity building, etc.

The pilot project shall end in 2024 and will cover the districts of Biswanath (lemongrass and patchouli), Dhemaji (vetiver), Dhubri (tulsi and vetiver), Goalpara (lemongrass, vetiver, tulsi), Majuli (vetiver), Karbi Anglong (lemon grass), Kokrajahar (lemongrass and tulsi). The districts of Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Kamrup will be covered under the new initiative-pilot intervention on community-based natural farming.

A number of activities have been selected for operations like post-harvest and processing demonstrations like adding ways of proper drying and processing of crops as well as crop demonstrations. The other interventions proposed shall include setting up mini processing plants for processing medicinal and aromatic plants, organizing buyer-seller meets, and establishing marketing tie-ups with leading Ayurveda and herbal medicine companies.

The project shall employ 15 master trainers who will earn a monthly remuneration. Along with this, there will be training cum exposure of progressive farmers and officials from Assam to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat to learn the best practices about natural farming, training, and awareness program, at the district and cluster level, support for village level natural farming input producing entrepreneurs and conducting state level workshops for stakeholders.

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