Paper presented at IFEAT Sri Lanka Conference September 27 – October 1, 2015, “Asia: Source of Essential Oils and Medicinal Plants”

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COMMUNITY BASED PRODUCTION AND ORGANIC CERTIFICATION OF AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL CROPS IN INDIA

Nikunj Harlalka

C.G. Herbals India

nikunj@cgherbals.in INTRODUCTION

The topic of the presentation is community based production of essential oils and medicinal plants. Few of these aromatic plants, which do not find application through distillation, are more in demand for their medicinal properties. I will also cover organic certification, as a lot of community based projects are traceable and the value chain is very defined and therefore it is possible to initiate organic farming practices as well as get these farms certified.

I will be covering a few Governmental schemes during the presentation, covering 4 states of India:

- CHHATTISGARH - MAHARASHTRA - UTTARAKAND - JAMMU AND KASHMIR

1. CHHATTSIGARH

At Chhattsigah, three Government schemes have been implemented, as follows:

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1.1 National Horticulture Mission

The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was started in India in 2002-13 to increase the area under production of horticulture and plantation crops in mission mode. As 40% of agriculture is rain-fed, it allows cultivation only for a short term crop spanning June to November. For the rest of the year the agriculture community migrates to nearby towns seeking employment in the un-organised sector doing odd jobs. NHM was thus drafted to create around the year employment for these communities.

Agricultural products are sold by farmers through the Agriculture Produce Market Committees which are setup in nearby towns surrounding production centres. As these markets did not deal with essential oils, price discovery and sale of produce was a major challenge. Thus the NHM in Chhattisgarh formed a tripartite agreement, which involved the State Horticulture Mission of Chhattsigarh as the implementing body funded by the centre, the farmer as the producer and industry as the buyer.

Lemongrass: The crop is ideally suited to

Central Indian conditions and the introduction of the Krishna variety by CIMAP further boosted production. It has been the most popular aromatic grass since then covering a wide area.

The total acreage under cultivation of lemongrass implemented by the mission has gone up, but the addition year on year has not increased that significantly because the process gained momentum. Once communities were introduced, it became a more self-sustained process.

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Jamarosa: This is a crop similar to lemongrass. However, it could not gain the same popularity

because the plant starts flowering post monsoon season which leads to decreased oil yields and thus increasing the cost of production. The area has remained stagnant since 2006.

Vetiver: This is the most successful aromatic crop under NHM as the planting material is a bi-product

of oil production and finds a market with infrastructure companies who use it for slope stabilisation to prevent soil erosion.

Eucalyptus citriodora: Again it is not only being used for oil production but is also popular with the paper industry which uses the wood to produce pulp. Some communities also use it for house construction. Most of the oil finds use within India but occasionally surplus quantities are available for exports.

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Income generation from aromatic crops is spread proportionately throughout the year contrary to paddy and other food crops where the entire income comes together once in a year.

Although the income from the cultivation of aromatic grasses is not significantly higher in comparison to good crops the better distribution of income throughout the year is ideally suited to communities where formal means of banking have not reached most households. The landholding pattern in this part is split into the following: 1. Shallow land: The land where water accumulates and stays is ideally suited to paddy cultivation, which is a part of the staple diet and also has assured price backup by the Government. 2. Upland: Traditionally used for growing lentils or oil seeds for subsistence. Partly used as it does not come under a Government buy-back scheme. Thus the surplus upland where the water does not accumulate is being used for the cultivation of aromatic crops as a means of cash generation. 1.2 WADI Program It translates into “orchard”; and this scheme is only for Tribal communities.

Chhattisgarh has a Tribal population of over 30% which creates the opportunity for a much larger population to benefit from this scheme.

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Similar to the NHM this scheme was also focussed on increasing livelihood opportunities for the marginalised section of the society and enhancing nutrition through fruit consumption.

However unlike NHM where the Government body was the implementing agency, in Wadi the schemes were implemented by NGO partners. The scheme is funded by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development).

Mango and cashew are the major fruit bearing crops under this scheme. Since both crops start bearing fruits and develop a canopy in only 3-4 years they are ideally suited for cultivation of aromatic grasses as intercrops.

Tagetes minuta has been taken as a short term inter-crop under Wadi. 1.3 JFM (Joint Forest Management)

This scheme was implemented by the centre to provide a legal framework for communities dwelling in forest areas and dependent on forest produce for their subsistence. It consists of a committee which has various stakeholders, i.e. forest officials, representatives of the village and designated marketing federation. The scheme ensures that the forest resources are optimally used so as to prevent over exploitation of the forest resource such that they continue to provide sustainable subsistence to the communities depending on them.

Eucalyptus globulus: Cultivation of eucalyptus is under the re-forestation program. The land, which was overharvested and stripped off its cover, is being planted with eucalyptus globulus. Here again, only a part of the eucalyptus plantation is being used only for essential oil production and thus harvested accordingly by cutting at regular intervals to allow a canopy to be formed. The rest of it is being used for timber production and the leaves obtained during the felling of these trees are used for oil production. This land is then re-planted.

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Low levels of eucalyptol are present in this oil and it finds its way either into domestic use or is rectified and standardised for use in Industry.

Boswellia serrata: This species of boswellia is unique to India. It finds wide application ranging from

production of boswellic acid to burning as incense and oil production. Serrata is low on olfactory notes as compared to its peers like carteri and rivae. Hence it is used mostly for industrial applications.

Recent advancement in oil processing significantly improved the oil quality and it is starting to gain acceptance in the aromatherapy segment where it is available for a lower price and the focus is more on its therapeutic value.

Nagarmotha: India is the major producer of nagarmotha oil also referred to as “cypriol” in trade circles. This oil is widely used in oriental and oud type fragrances. Harvesting of nagarmotha starts post monsoon when the water from rivers starts receding and nagarmotha can be dug and collected near river banks by shoving the loose sand around it. These products are able not only to enhance income but also its collection engages the communities, thus avoiding the collection of tendu leaves, which are used for rolling native cigarette, and mahua flower, which is used for making a local brew. Thus apart from the monetary gain which the community makes it discourages production of tobacco and alcohol to some extent.

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2. MAHARASHTRA 2.1 National Horticulture Board (NHB) The purpose of NHB is the same as NHM. However, the implementation is through direct cash subsidies to the beneficiary. This is more successful in regions where progressive farming communities are aware and are capable of following the required procedure to claim benefit from the Government directly.

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Various spices, flowers and long-term aromatic plantation are taken up under this scheme.

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Organic patchouli is a feature of this area. Contrary to beliefs that Indian patchouli is low in patchouli alcohol but we have a PA as high

as 36% from the production in this region. When Indonesian patchouli oil prices crashed many farmers completely up-rooted the patchouli plant and distilled it, which led to poor quality oil. Production has not picked up momentum since then and cultivation is restricted to small landholdings for the production of organic oil.

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3. UTTARAKHAND 3.1 Centre for Aromatic Plants (CAP)

CAP is a state funded agency responsible for carrying our extension of aromatic crops within the state. It has been responsible for bio-prospecting native species in this area, which is a part of the Himalayan region, as well as propagating commercial aromatic plantations like chamomile and culinary spices.

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Organic Mint is the highlight of this project where

organic cultivation of Mentha arvensis, M. piperita, M. spicata and M. citrata is being taken by farmers having small landholding, which is a common feature in hilly areas.

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Basil of different types rich in methyl chavicol and linalool alone

have been taken up for cultivation in the Terai region of this state.

4. JAMMU & KASHMIR 4.1 Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM)

This region has been a war zone and one of the most disturbed regions of the world. Engagement of the local population in terrorist activities has led to several measures by the Government to engage the local youth in the mainstream economy though such schemes.

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Formerly known as RRL-Jammu has a long history of research on aromatic crops. Recently it has been responsible for creating clusters of lavender in the valley. A lavender festival was also organised to create awareness among farmers, artists and the local population.

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To sum up, the essential oil industry is a social enterprise and engages the rural communities at large. Companies can look at channelling their CSR spending into the above projects.

Nikunj Harlalka is a graduate in Chemistry (Hons) from Mumbai University. Given

his interest in the developmental sector, Nikunj chose to go to Raipur, Chhattisgarh

where he joined M/s. C.G Herbals in 2007. He initiated the process by converting

captive farms and farmer clusters to organic production. He is passionately

involved in production, certification, procurement, and sales and is a visiting

speaker at rural management institutions in India, speaking largely on "The role of

aromatic crops in rural development", "Livelihood opportunities in the essential oils

industry" and "Organic certification of aromatic crops". Being born into a family of essential oil

processers, he was inducted in the business early on and has travelled extensively throughout India

for sourcing of essential oils.