Srinagar : Taking a cue from China, India today embarked on a major national initiative for commercial cultivation of sea buckthorn, a medicinal plant found in upper Kashmir Himalayan region.
The move includes a pledge by India to bring an area of one million hectare under the crop`s ambit by 2020 to reach the level achieved by the neighbouring country. "We are nowhere near to the three major sea buckthorn cultivation countries. For instance, compared to China which has 1.1 million hectares under sea buckthorn cultivation, we are negligible with just only 11,500 hectares of land for this purpose," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said at a workshop here.
Mongolia has 30,000 hectares while Russia is cultivating the valuable plant in the 47,000 hectares, he said. It is for the first time the government has focused attention on the commercial cultivation of sea buckthorn plants, which has oval shaped and flame-coloured fruits which are highly nutritious and are a very good source of vitamins, trace minerals, amino acids, and antioxidant.
The plant is extensively used by China in its traditional medicines and for other purposes, he said while announcing the launch of national sea buckthorn initiative.
Ramesh added that agencies like the Indian Council for Forestry Research, Jammu and Kashmir Medicinlal Plants Introduction Centre, CSIR, ICAR, DBT and National Horticulture
Board working on various aspects of the plant will be now under the leadership of Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), which is a nodal laboratory for research and activities on the multi-purpose plant.
"An over arching national objective of the initiative will be to bring one million hectares of land area under
sea buckthorn cultivation by 2020," Ramesh said while exhorting the DIHAR to prepare an action-plan within next two months as a part of the Green India Mission.
To begin with, in the first phase, Leh,Kargil, Sonamarag, Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir, Lahul Spiti and Kinnaur in Himachal Pardesh and Chamoli in Uttarakhand will be targeted for cultivation, later to be extended to Arunanchal Pradesh in the next five years.
Priority for cultivation will be on riverbanks and hill slopes, Ramesh said at the workshop, a first of its kind which saw participation from locals, representatives from research institutions and various stakeholders, including farmers, to promote it on commercial basis.
Stressing that the project success depends on community participation, the Union Minister said that women`s self groups will be mobilised to scale up the initiative in the focus area.
Sea buckthorn seed/planting material are available at:
JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre-JKMPIC
"Ginkgo House", Azizabad, Via Wuyan-Meej Road, Pampore PPR JK 192121
Ph: 09858986794, 01933-223705
e-mail: jkmpic@gmail.com
home: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com
The move includes a pledge by India to bring an area of one million hectare under the crop`s ambit by 2020 to reach the level achieved by the neighbouring country. "We are nowhere near to the three major sea buckthorn cultivation countries. For instance, compared to China which has 1.1 million hectares under sea buckthorn cultivation, we are negligible with just only 11,500 hectares of land for this purpose," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said at a workshop here.
Mongolia has 30,000 hectares while Russia is cultivating the valuable plant in the 47,000 hectares, he said. It is for the first time the government has focused attention on the commercial cultivation of sea buckthorn plants, which has oval shaped and flame-coloured fruits which are highly nutritious and are a very good source of vitamins, trace minerals, amino acids, and antioxidant.
The plant is extensively used by China in its traditional medicines and for other purposes, he said while announcing the launch of national sea buckthorn initiative.
Ramesh added that agencies like the Indian Council for Forestry Research, Jammu and Kashmir Medicinlal Plants Introduction Centre, CSIR, ICAR, DBT and National Horticulture
Board working on various aspects of the plant will be now under the leadership of Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), which is a nodal laboratory for research and activities on the multi-purpose plant.
"An over arching national objective of the initiative will be to bring one million hectares of land area under
sea buckthorn cultivation by 2020," Ramesh said while exhorting the DIHAR to prepare an action-plan within next two months as a part of the Green India Mission.
To begin with, in the first phase, Leh,Kargil, Sonamarag, Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir, Lahul Spiti and Kinnaur in Himachal Pardesh and Chamoli in Uttarakhand will be targeted for cultivation, later to be extended to Arunanchal Pradesh in the next five years.
Priority for cultivation will be on riverbanks and hill slopes, Ramesh said at the workshop, a first of its kind which saw participation from locals, representatives from research institutions and various stakeholders, including farmers, to promote it on commercial basis.
Stressing that the project success depends on community participation, the Union Minister said that women`s self groups will be mobilised to scale up the initiative in the focus area.
Sea buckthorn seed/planting material are available at:
JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre-JKMPIC
"Ginkgo House", Azizabad, Via Wuyan-Meej Road, Pampore PPR JK 192121
Ph: 09858986794, 01933-223705
e-mail: jkmpic@gmail.com
home: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com
