Organic Conversion & Certification: a Strategy for Improved Value-addition and Marketing of Medicinal Plants Products in the Himalayas

The Himalayan mountains are extremely rich in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) wealth. However, due to years of unwise use, the availability of medicinal plant materials in desired quality, quantity, time, and place have become difficult raising serious doubt about the region's potential to be a preferred market destination for the phyto-medicine industry regionally and internationally. The sustainable production, conservation and use of medicinal plants are influenced by a nurnber of factors, largely of agricultural, socio-econornic, technical, institutional and policy nature. Poorly standardized production systern, unsustainable and destructive harvesting of the raw rnaterials frorn wild by untrained and poorly rnotivated collectors and farrners rnostly using prirnitive rnethods and lack of awareness about the real potential of the resources are other irnportant factors leading to resource depletion. Local people, especially poor and ethnic rninorities, derive a substantial portion of their incorne and products for their livelihoods and basic health care needs frorn rnedicinal plants. This paper presents value-addition through organic production and certification rnechanisrns as an approach to integrate and address the above issues. The rnain prernise is that rnedicinal plant resources are natural capital of the country and can irnprove livelihoods of the state's predorninantly tribal people. However, these resources need to be augrnented and properly rnanaged following national and international guidelines for standards and quality to ensure their rnarketing and cornrnensurate benefits to the local people. Knowledge of prevailing national and global rnarket conditions will push for the conversion of these natural resources into quality products, that can generate gainful ernployrnent and greater incorne to collectors and farrners. The suggested strategy explicitly recognizes that : rnedicinal plant resources being traditionally held natural assets of local cornrnunities, decisions to use or conserve natural capital should involve livelihood choices of the local people. Mechanisrns need to be developed and broadened to forrnalize the inclusion ofrnarket cornpetitiveness and cornparative advantage related strategies. Procedures are needed for production and processing based on the cornparative advantage of the region in terrns of production capacity, cost.cornpetitiveness, technological base, rnanagernent quality and business environrnent. Central to this approach is the application of value or rnarket chain analysis and rnethods. Opportunities for accessing niche rnarket for certified organic rnedicinal products could capture price prerniurn in the national and international rnarkets the steps for which the countries of the Hirnalayan region should take on an urgent basis.