A one-day seminar on “Promoting Conservation, Cultivation of Medicinal Plants and Developing Entrepreneurship in the Medicinal Plants Sector in the UT of J&K,” was today organized here by Health & Medical Education Department J&K, Directorate of AYUSH J&K and the J&K Medicinal Plants Board in collaboration with the District Administration Ramban.
Farmers and educated unemployed youth hailing from different parts of the district attended the seminar. Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Alyas Khan along with Director AYUSH J&K, Dr. Suresh Sharma inaugurated the event.
Expert lectures on the subject were delivered by Chief Planning Officer Dr. Shakeeb Ahmed; Chief Agriculture Officer Vinay Jandyal; Technical Officer Dr. Wahid-ul-Hassan; District Nodal Officer Medicinal Plants Board Dr. Masood Zargar and resource persons from AYUSH including Nodal Officer Dr. Paramjeet Puri; Dr. Romesh Chander and Dr. Bashir Ahmed Dar.
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Commissioner emphasized the need for a structured, sustainable and commercially viable strategy to harness the economic, ecological and livelihood potential of aromatic and medicinal plant cultivation in both forest and non-forest areas. He directed the concerned departments to prepare comprehensive, area-specific action plans for large-scale propagation of high-value plant species and to popularize their cultivation among farmers and local communities.
“The land available in education and other institutions and forest areas can be used for demonstration, training and capacity-building, besides the production of quality planting and propagation material,” he said. Highlighting the importance of practical exposure, he also called for the establishment of model herbal gardens in colleges and schools to showcase best practices and motivate farmers to adopt cultivation on a commercial scale.
In his address, the Director AYUSH J&K underscored the profitability and long-term potential of the medicinal and aromatic plants. He urged the departments to explore the possibilities for setting up processing units, value-addition facilities and dedicated clusters, while effectively utilizing available land as reserves and demonstration sites. He noted that such initiatives would significantly enhance income-generation opportunities for farming communities.
The Director further suggested the development of cluster-based frameworks to enable farmers to learn collectively, access to technical knowledge, quality planting material and market linkages, thereby strengthening entrepreneurship and ensuring sustainable growth of the sector in District Ramban.