Introducing course in medicinal plant cultivation to overcome scarcity of raw drugs for Ayush formulations

As a remedy to the huge shortage of availability of raw materials for manufacturing Ayurvedic formulations in Kerala, the Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (CAVP) has put forward one suggestion to the government of Kerala that a Diploma in Medicinal Plant Cultivation (DMPC) would bring eternal solution to the scarcity crisis. The cultivation programme either under university level or under the technical education board will produce skilled medicinal plant cultivators who will cultivate all kinds of plants and herbs required for the Ayush industry in general. There are plenty of unused and cultivable lands in several parts of Kerala and in the neighboring states. Once qualified cultivators come out of the institutes, they themselves will identify the land and start farming provided the industry group and government are behind them. They can also form societies and associate with the industry.

In addition to the diploma course, specialty courses can be started for agricultural science graduates by including Ayurveda pharmacology (Dravya gunam- material medica) in their syllabus. This will enable the agricultural scientists to become specialists in medicinal plants, so that they can also enter into the domain of medicinal plant farming and become supplier of raw materials to the manufacturing companies. If special training is required, the State Medicinal Plant Board should make facilities and provide all support. CAVP has submitted its report to the state government and a copy will be forwarded to the Ministry of Ayush in New Delhi.

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